Disclaimer- I wish I owned Demyx... He's adorable.
Warnings- you might want to punch a certain redhead, and heck you might want to call Demyx the hero of this chapter.
A/N- my loud mouth has nothing to say once again. Oh I know! Ha, so many people were like "OMG chapter 14 sounded close to the end!" And I laughed. Obviously you people don't know me well... So here it goes!
Hi, I'm Alisha, I'm 17 and a Junior in high school. I excessively use the word "coolbeans" when spoken to, I value organizational skills, long fanfictions, and learning fictional magic spells through reading Harry Potter.
Okay :)
But I do like this nice long chapter...
Protecting Me
Chapter 15 : Black Out.
Hold you tight, with all my might,
The darkened recreation room glowed with a certain unusual warmth, only a sign that someone was able to fiddle around with the thermostat in the middle of the night while no one could stop them. Not that anyone would have minded the added heat. The castle was normally at an unbearably low temperature unless someone stealthily turned the heat knob up when no one (specifically Xemnas) was paying attention. It was especially horrid in the morning when the cold did its worst toll on the nobody's bodies inside. The absence of a sun left the heat as their only safe guard from the merciless cold of the dark city.
Axel's eyes blinked open to the unnatural warmth of the room, his arm numb from resting his heavy head on top of it all night. His body was not laying flat on his enormous worn-in bed surrounded by an array of pillows and a feathered down blanket tucked securely up to his chin. Instead his legs were curled up to his chest in a rather cramped position. Replacing his bed was a twill peach colored rug. Curled up in almost a mock position of Axel was Roxas, laying perfectly under Axel's free arm with Sora safely in his grip as usual.
A light dreamy groan sounded somewhere by Axel's curled up feet. The redhead shifted his weight so he could sit up. The second he did his head connected hard with a wooden surface above him. Not uttering a word for fear of waking anyone up, he just rubbed his head and wondered what in the worlds he hit it on. Once he recovered he noticed that lying right by his feet, clad in the same clothes they ventured to Twilight Town in the previous day, was Demyx with his head tucked between his folded arms. Axel let out a relieved sigh as he laid back with his fingers laced behind his head, taking in the combined rhythmic breathing of his friends mixed with the sound of rain pounding on the castle roof.
How in all of Kingdom Hearts did the three of them end up in this position?
"Hewe!" Roxas pointed a chubby finger towards a door down the first floor hall. The other hand was being used to drag Axel along behind him. Demyx held tightly to the back of Axel's shirt, nearly tripping on the back of the redheads heel in the dim castle hall. The musician gave a squeal as his toe collided with the foot in front of him.
"Shh!" Axel turned around, putting a finger roughly to his mouth.
"Sorry..."
The trio had unfortunately gotten distracted back in Twilight town when walking back to the train station through the sandlot. Strings of lights were being hung from buildings, a crew of people were putting together what looked like a stage, and an unusual amount of people were crowding around; enough to make just passing through near impossible.
"What in the heck is going on here?" Axel attempted to push through, holding tightly to Roxas.
"I have no clu-AH!" Demyx stopped dead in his tracks with his mouth agape and eyes wide. With a shaky finger he pointed to a poster hanging from one of the buildings. "Performing tonight! LIVE! The Twilight Town Gang!" Demyx nearly gave a girlish screech. It was the exact band represented on his T-shirt.
The lights from the stage suddenly flashed and an announcer introduced the band... Of course this only meant Demyx would force them to stay...
A variety of teenagers crowded around the stage while Demyx fought to push his way to the very front, probably succeeding. Axel stayed behind the crowed with Roxas. Much to his surprise, the toddler didn't shrink away from the amount people or loud pumping sound but instead began to bounce up and down to the beat in Axel's arms. He was even moving his mouth as if he knew the words (except his lip singing resembled nothing like the lyrics to the song). The band finished a musical set, leaving the crowed in an uproarious cheer. Along with them Roxas began clapping wildly with Axel looking on with a warm smile.
"Ax, lookit!" Roxas gently pulled on a lock of Axel's hair to attract his attention to the pitch-black night sky. A silence hung over the previously uncontrollable crowed until a bright red streak of light went whistling up into the sky.
Anticipation took over until the heavens suddenly exploded in a loud burst of color. Roxas's eyes opened a bit wider and a loud giggle escaped his mouth. He settled back against Axel with his face pressed against the redhead's cheek.
"...'t's so cooool." He faintly whispered.
"Man, are we lucky or what?" Demyx pushed his way back out of the crowed to meet back up with his friends. "One of my all time favorite bands and fireworks all in the same night!"
"It is pretty lucky."
"Maybe it's a sign,"
Axel tilted his head towards Demyx curiously.
"I mean, maybe it's a sign that things are going to be alright, you know?"
Who knew, maybe their sudden streak of good luck did mean something.
Roxas settled his head on Axel's shoulder to watch a seemingly endless parade of lights, sounds, and color. The other two beamed up at the fireworks just the same as Roxas. Axel probably being the only one of the three wondering if a firework was enough to blow up the castle...
The festive atmosphere of the Twilight Town Sandlot didn't die down until well around midnight. Apparently it was the town's end of summer festival, leaving the trio with plenty to do.
Once they finally made it back to the castle it was well into the night. Xemnas would have been furious at their return time if it weren't the eve before their day off. Non-the-less the halls were pitch black, everyone was asleep and without the ability to teleport, the chance that sneaking upstairs to their rooms would wake someone up was very high.
"So where will we sleep if you won't let us go up to our rooms?" Demyx complained loudly as they made their way down the dark lower hall.
"Can you keep your mouth shut for five seconds because that would be great."
"I told ya! In hewe!" Roxas pointed up to a doorknob, demanding that Axel open it. The toddler had led them to the recreation room. He bounced happily on the balls of his feet, pointing to the table still draped with a blanket representing the threes 'secret spot'. Luxord must have known it was Roxas's and left it alone.
Axel and Demyx exchanged a glance with a raised eyebrow, wondering if they would all fit under there comfortably enough to sleep. Roxas had already run under and curled up to close his eyes. Axel shrugged, seeing as there was nowhere else, and curled up beside Roxas, scrunching his legs up to make room for Demyx. The older blond smiled, secretly flipping the heat switch up as he made his way to the tent.
"Right... The tent." Axel sighed. He slid out from under the table, making a great effort not to wake the other two. The window in the recreation room overlooking memories skyscrape was stained with water droplets following a predetermined path to the end of the window. The unpropitious weather almost had a certain foreboding to it. Almost as if the weather itself was trying to tell Axel everything he thought yesterday about 'good luck' was wrong. It was horrible weather even for The World that Never Was. Heavy rain pounded loudly against the castle towers. The buildings beyond memories skyscrape were barely visible thanks to a thick fog covering the city.
The clock on the wall read 1:30pm. Everyone else was probably long gone being that it was their day off, either that or they were keeping silently to themselves, completing tasks left unfinished during the work week. No doubt the trio slept through the bell. The redhead sat by the window watching shapes of nobodies and heartless wandering around downtown in the dark.
The thought of the dream he had the other night kept plaguing his mind like a broken record. Not that it was a bad thing, because it really wasn't. It marked the day him and Roxas became inseparable best friends. The day after Axel had helped Roxas to his room, he woke up with every intention on befriending Roxas. Why? He really didn't understand it himself. Some kid falls asleep on him and all of a sudden he was going out of his way to go up to his room and show him where the dining hall was? It wasn't like Axel at all. There really was something about that kid...
And he was right. They talked, and the rest was Organization XIII history.
'Do you think what Demyx said was true?'
Axel shook his head violently to rid himself of that thought. THAT was the part he didn't like and unfortunately the part that seemed on constant rewind. Why even think of such a stupid thing? Nobodies don't have hearts. They can't feel. Demyx was just being an idiot and Axel knew that side of him very well.
'Do you think what Demyx said was true?'
He shook his head again. Why wouldn't it stop? IT WASN'T TRUE! Not even in a dream and sure as hell not in real life would he say something like that. It was useless dreaming of things like that anyway... Not now, not ever, not even if-
"Axel?" Roxas's small voice popped up. He crawled out from under the tent, rubbing his eyes just in time to see Axel shake his head. "Wha'sa mattew?"
"Nothing."Axel racked a hand through his hair as he looked down at the blond. He was still the same. No taller, no older, still his Roxas... just not his Roxas.
If that made any sense at all in anyone else's mind but his...
"Yeah thewe is!"
"No there's not, I was just thinking." Apparently Roxas wasn't pleased with that answer. He stood in the same spot with the same pout. "Go wake up Demyx and play with him or something. I'm busy."
"You don't look busy..."
"Yeah well... There are different types of busy. You're just too young to understand them."
Roxas got an offended look on his face, well, as offended as a three year old could possibly get. "Ugh! You an Zexy awe both the saaame! You both sit thewe bein' weiwed and sad and say youw sooooo busy doin' nothin'!"
"I told you, it's just a different kind of busy."
Roxas's pout grew more desperate. He turned swiftly on his heel and headed back to the tent. "Then I guess youw thinkin' made you fowget to wake up Sowa AGAIN!"
Axel blinked with his lips pressed together to conceal a smile. How could anyone not smile at that brilliant three-year-old rant? Well, at least now Axel wasn't the only one in a sour mood. Two nobodies in a bad mood?
Must have been the weather for sure.
Just as Axel guessed most of the Organization was either out enjoying the day off or they were keeping to themselves inside the castle. If he were them and didn't have Roxas as a responsibility, he would have most likely escaped the horrendous weather as fast as possible.
Axel left the recreation room shortly afterwards to get changed into some new clothes and take a shower. By the time Axel came back down from his routine Demyx was already awake and active. Roxas dodged a quick attempt Demyx made at grabbing him, letting out a happy giggle. Before Demyx could even make another attempt to capture him, Roxas was darting for the safety of the couch.
"Gotcha!" Just as Roxas fell a little short of escaping, Demyx scooped the other blond up. The second Roxas was picked up, he was tipped upside down, being held by the knees so that he was swinging freely below Demyx's waist.
"Axxxxxey! Lookit!" Roxas laughed, pumping his arms so that he was swinging higher.
For the most part Axel ignored the both of them, save for a quick glance in Roxas's direction. Demyx was expecting the possessive/protective Axel to show himself like he normally did. He was at the most expecting him to take Roxas from him for fear that what he was doing to the kid was 'dangerous' or something. Very uncharacteristically of Axel, he fell back onto the couch, staring out at the rain cluttered window into the city as if the two weren't even in the room.
The blond pairs smiles suddenly fell. Very gently, Demyx lowered Roxas so he could put his hands on the ground and crawl down.
"Demy?" Roxas pulled on the end of Demyx's shorts, "Somethin's amattew with Axel..."
Axel's head was resting against the back of the couch with his legs bent in front of him. A pillow was the barrier between his knees and chest. It was obvious that something was running through Axel's mind and of course Demyx was probably the only one who had half a clue as to what it was.
"Mmhm, I'll go talk to him." Demyx put a hand up in front of him, a motion meant to tell Roxas to wait, "You stay here."
"Why?" Roxas hit the hand away.
"Just..." The Melodious Nocturne turned towards Axel, putting his warning hand back up for Roxas to stay put,"Don't move. 'kay?"
Roxas begrudgingly obeyed the command with crossed arms as Demyx walked towards potentially dangerous territory. When Axel was in a bad mood his bad temper rose at least eighty percent. Going near him was either a death sentence or a screaming competition. Demyx was able to catch a quick peek at Axel's face. The fire wielder didn't appear mad, he didn't even seem upset. His expression just said he was thinking... a lot. Still Demyx took caution as he sat on the edge of the couch, careful not to bump into Axel's feet.
"Um," Demyx nervously started by raking a hand through his styled mullet. Axel hadn't even acknowledged the fact that Demyx sat down at all, "Axel?"
"Huh?" Axel looked up as if surprised to see Demyx sitting there. Hadn't even noticed... Wait, come to think of it he had felt the couch cave in a little by his feet...
"Roxas is worried about you."
"I know."
Demyx sighed. Now Axel was giving minimal eye contact. Normally Axel looked at people when he talked, even a glare would have worked. Axel liked glaring, yet he wasn't even doing that. "I know what you're thinking about."
"I bet."
"...I'll let you think then," The blond watched his friend with concern. "but you shouldn't think on it too much. I'm telling you Axel, everything will work out on its own."
Axel didn't respond.
"You can talk about it if you want..."
Still nothing.
"Fine," Demyx stood up with a sigh. Talking to Axel wasn't going to get him anywhere. After a while it might have earned him a good punch in the face, but that was the point he wanted to avoid, "I can try to keep Roxas away from you for a while if you want? It's good to not have anyone around while you think."
"That would help," Axel stated curtly. When Axel turned his head slightly as if not listening anymore the Musician decided to take his leave to attend to Roxas. The whole time the toddler had been an onlooker. He was just out of earshot of the conversation. Not that it was a particularly notable conversation, that wasn't the point.
Demyx was coming back so that meant Axel must have been fixed. So why was it that when Roxas made an attempt to run to him, Demyx grabbed him and pulled him back?
"Ah- Dem!" Roxas squirmed in the musician's arms. "I need ta see Axel!"
"He's busy."
"Why's evewyone keep tellin' me that?"
As if ignoring what Roxas said, Demyx spoke, "Hey, want to finish playing our game?"
Needless to say, this was quite infuriating for a three year old. Those moments when, no matter how little you were, you had something important to say to someone but no one listened. Age made your complaints unimportant. No matter how much Roxas wanted to run to Axel, wrap his arms around his neck and tell him to snap out of it, Demyx didn't stop sweeping Roxas away until they were out in the hallway.
"Don't wanna play," Roxas kicked listlessly at the ground as Demyx shut the recreation room door. Axel was left in solitude, Roxas left confused, and Demyx stuck painfully between the two of them. "I wanna see Axel."
Demyx leaned down in front of Roxas, looking in his disappointed eyes. He didn't want to keep Roxas from Axel. Actually, he thought being together would have been good for both of them. If only that was what Axel wanted right now...
"I can't let you do that Rox, not right now."
"But why?"
"He needs some alone time..." Demyx sighed when he noticed Roxas looking back at the door with a concerned expression, "Come on, we'll find something really fun to play." He held a hand out to Roxas
Roxas had no other choice but to follow. After all, no little kid was truly in charge of their own life.
xXx
The day continued on but showed no sign of lightening up anytime soon. The discouraging weather didn't let up either and Demyx even swore he could hear the rain coming down harder. Roxas put half effort into every game Demyx suggested. Every game that Roxas normally loved he either didn't want to play or gave up half way through. He just kept thinking back to the fact that Axel was acting different. He even asked Demyx, in the sweetest voice possible, if he could go see Axel. The Nocturne refused to give in.
The hallway Demyx took Roxas into was really quiet. The silence normally would have been perfect for a good game of hide and seek, if Roxas had felt into it that is... He wondered if there was a way he could sneak past Demyx to get to that door. He could tell Axel needed him, Demyx usually knew too!
He seemed to be guarding the door rather heavily though. He was even looking back at it every few seconds. He knew that anywhere beyond that door was an Axel who probably wasn't in the mood for much.
The older nobody crept around a column off to the side of the hallway with his eyebrow raised. "Rox, you've hidden in the same spot for the past five games."
"I told ya I don't wanna play! I wanna see Axel!"
"And I told you, you can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Hey kiddo!" Another voice entered the hall where the two were. Demyx let out a relieved sigh when he recognized Xigbars voice, at least the distraction would help avoid another argument with Roxas. The portal appeared on the ceiling as the older man that stepped out looked waterlogged as he jumped down to the floor. A large puddle formed around his feet that came from water sliding off his cloak.
"The weathers ridiculous here. You wouldn't believe how hot it is in Port Royal though," Xigbar glanced down at Roxas and ruffled his hair, "Hey squirt."
Roxas only grumbled at the comment.
"Xigbar!" Demyx gave a large smile upon seeing the man. He figured Xigbar would spend his day off in a place like Port Royal. Rum, cheap women and theft were all that place was about, "So any news on Zexion?"
"Nothing new," Xigbar shook some water out of his ponytail. Demyx had self elected Xigbar as his 'Zexion updater' seeing as Xigbar was a father-like figure to Demyx and he and Zexion were constantly working together. This way Demyx wouldn't be pegged as a stalker and he'd know everything new about his love interest. It was perfect.
"He did however decide to lock himself in his room and read for the entirety of his day off."
"I figured that much," Demyx chuckled, "Zexion, he's always-"
Roxas stopped listening right there, because it was right there that he found his escape route. When Demyx started talking on the subject of Zexion it could go on for hours. Not only didn't he stop but he hardly noticed anything going on around him. Poor sucker...
Roxas crept right past Demyx when he began explaining the mystery novel he once saw Zexion reading. Xigbar of course listened with mild enthusisam, but Demyx probably couldn't have cared less. He didn't even turn around when Roxas opened the door and slipped into the room Axel was in.
The conditions in the room hadn't changed a bit. It was still warmer than the rest of the halls and Axel was still giving off an excessive aura of misery. The redhead was lying down comatose on the couch with his head still facing the window. Whoever the heck kidnapped Axel and replaced him with this dead weight hindrance to society really needed to cut the crap and give Axel back. This definitely wasn't Axel.
Roxas took up his position right by the edge of the couch with his stuffed animal squeezed between his arms. He reached out and gave Axel's arm a light poke. Axel flinched ever so slightly, pushing himself up on his elbows so he could see who was intruding his solitude. If that was Demyx asking him what was wrong again then someone's ass was in trouble. His head shifted in the direction of the poke, and of all people he was surprised to see Roxas... Of course he should have known Demyx would have failed at keeping an eye on him.
"I thought you and Demyx were playing." Axel reached back to brush his hand against the back of his neck. Roxas shook his head slowly before crawling up onto the couch right beside Axel. He was about to curl up even closer to his best friend but he was already sending warning signals showing that he didn't want it.
Normally Axel would have loved to have Roxas curl up next to him. There was a certain warmth that Roxas seemed to give off that no one else possessed. It was rather calming most nights when the toddler curled up to his side in bed; it was a warmth he immediately could pinpoint when it left him. Right now his mind didn't want it, his body wanted it, but his mind was too busy over-analyzing everything Demyx had said the other day. Roxas curling up to him would most likely send his mind into an even worse whirlwind then it was already in. His body would have to wait.
"Youw sad wight?"
"No, I'm not sad."
Roxas tilted his head to the side. Axel looked sad, yet he was saying he wasn't and it confused Roxas.
"Well... you wanna hold Sowa anyway?" He held out his stuffed animal to Axel, "He cheews me up."
Axel gave a glance back at the window before pushing the stuffed animal back against Roxas's chest where it belonged, "I'm good, you keep him."
Roxas gave a stubborn pout, although he doubted Axel saw him because the redhead had gone back to giving the window an empty gaze.
"Hey I know!" Roxas suddenly perked up as he pulled at Axel's sleeve to re-direct his attention. Axel just vaguely glanced over at Roxas with his patience running thinner then he'd like. Where the hell was Demyx anyway? "Wanna come play hide an' seek with me an' Dem? It'd be a lot funnew with you."
"No." Axel spat back a little harsher then intended. He took a deep breath, forcing his voice to grow calmer once he saw Roxas had pulled back, "Why don't you just go back out there and play with Dem alone?"
"Cuz Axel..."
The two were silent when the rain seemed to pick up and the wind howled as it scraped against the sides of the castle. Roxas seemed to lose his words with the excess noise. The storm clouds overhead cluttered closer together. Right between the ominous looking clouds a brilliant electric spark erupted in the shape of a bolt. So bright was this sudden light that it appeared to be bursting right through the window, illuminating the dimly lit room.
Not even a second later a low rolling thunder shook the whole of the castle. The hair on the back of Roxas's neck stood on end and a shutter ran through his body that didn't go unnoticed by Axel. The fire wielder raised his eyebrow as Roxas shook like a leaf. His teenage self had never been afraid of storms.
xXx
Two of the few nobodies that decided to stay in the castle on their day off took up space in the Hall of Empty Melodies. Luxord being one of them skillfully blocked an attack from his opponent with a barricade of cards. Just as Larxene began overcharging her body, sending volts of electricity coursing through her veins, Luxord's body was already protected with playing cards higher than his head.
The electricity was released from Larxenes body as a bolt that singed the cards until they were nothing but mere ash. Luxord silently cursed himself, of course his downtime couldn't last too long since Larxene was fast. Larxene's one greatest strength came from the fact that she was simply the fastest member in Organization XIII. For this reason, having a lighting based power was an advantage.
Luxord had very little time to think before Larxene had summoned her kunai and was charging right for him.
The gambler shuffled back fast, calling more of his giant cards to his aid. About a dozen appeared in a row behind him. The very center card was the one he disappeared into as the cards began to shuffle to confuse his opponent. The one containing Luxord became increasingly difficult to find.
"Crafty Brit..." She muttered under her breath, clutching her kunai tighter in her fist.
"So what do you make of this?" From one of the cards came the voice of Luxord, now it was just a matter of figuring out which card that was, "Axel finding out about the bet I mean."
"Well," Larxene held her energy back so that she could scan each of the cards carefully, looking for the one with Luxords figure imprinted onto it, "to be honest, I don't really care if he knows or not." Finally she caught a glimpse of Luxord's hiding place and went charging straight for the card. Her kunai broke through the thick paper with ease causing Luxord to stumble right out of his illusion.
"Really?... Elaborate." His speech came through his labored breath now.
Larxene, once again, lunged at Luxord, this time her weapons were called off as she resorted to a full on melee attack.
"Nothing is working!" The female threw a fury of punches at Luxord, the gambler easily blocked them, "I've tried everything and that horrible brat just clings to Axel more!" She finally delivered a kick to Luxords shin that caused him to fall forward. She stood over him triumphantly, "Axel is loving every second of it!"
Slowly Luxord rose from the ground, wiping some dirt from his cloak. He quickly took a ready stance to prepare for another attack. The girl didn't even give Luxord two seconds to think about his next move. Her kunai materialized back into her waiting fists. At record speed she thrust her body at Luxord. His back hit the wall behind him. One of Larxene's fists held Luxord's shoulder against the wall while the other held the kunai at throat point.
Luxord didn't flinch at the threat, but merely drew in a sharp breath when he was shoved against the wall. It was an Organization XIII rule after all. In battle, fear is one facaded emotion that should NEVER be displayed. Fear was the emotional sign of weakness and the Organization was not weak. Perhaps that was the reason why Demyx was never on the Superiors good side...
"You win this round, good play."
Larxene flashed a satisfied smirk and backed off of the man when her kunai disappeared.
It was yet another Organization XIII rule that could not be broken. No member was by any means permitted to fatally injure another member in sparing matches. They needed to stay in top fighting form. If they were all injured from fighting each other then what sort of progress would they make?
Luxord put a hand intelligently under his chin, looking Larxene in the eye. He had to admit his interest was slightly peaked with Larxene's lack of motivation today. He thought that of all days Larxene would be bringing Axel down the most on a day off. "So, you forfeit then mate? If you give up, the bet is lost."
Just after Luxord spoke a clap of thunder erupted from somewhere outside the castle. Larxene tilted her chin up to listen to the hauntingly beautiful sound of the storm. They always soothed her. Naturally when any member was around their element they felt a certain tranquility take over.
"Actually," A smirk grew on her face that would surely even scare Xemnas, "I don't think all hope is lost. Follow me, dear Luxord. You're not winning this bet."
With the highest interest in Larxene's new game he followed her through a portal to a part of the castle he had never been to before. The low ceilinged room had a humid kind of warmth to it. The kind of heat that made ones clothes stick to their bodies with little effort. The only light came from a small light bulb overhead with a pull-string switch attached to it. The ceiling was nothing but a maze of pipes twisting and turning around each other. Occasionally a puff of white smoke would blow from the spot where two pipes interlocked loosely. The smell in this place was quite notable too… and not for a good reason.
"Welcome to the castles lowest basement." Larxene set her hands on her hips while she let her eyes scan the room.
"What business have we down here."
Larxene's eyes then seemed to finally land on their target and she motioned for Luxord to follow her. After hopping over a few pipes they stopped on the other side of the room where a metal box with a lightning bolt symbol displayed on it was mounted up on the wall.
"Watch and learn my dear, watch and learn..." Her body surged with electricity until her fingertips sparked with her element. Once enough energy was gathered she opened the box and pressed her palm against the wires inside, transferring her energy into the power source. The lights in every room of the castle overcharged to the point that they looked about ready to burst into a million pieces before completely blowing out into total darkness. Not just the basement light went black, but the whole castle suddenly became submerged in obscurity.
xXx
"What the-" Demyx jumped when the whole hallway suddenly went black. No longer could he see Xigbar right in front of him. Heck, he couldn't even see his nose anymore. A flash of light came from the storm outside, illuminating Xigbars face for only a split second. A shriek belonging to a younger person sounded somewhere close by, causing Demyx to flinch.
"Lightning probably knocked out the power," Xigbar put a reassuring hand on Demyx's arm to let him know he was still there. "I'll go find Xemnas and we'll have this fixed in no time."
Demyx heard a portal opening up and assumed it was only Xigbar leaving. He already knew Roxas was no longer in the hallway. The scream he heard belonged to Roxas and it definitely wasn't in the hallway. He reached out in front of him, feeling the wall up and down in search of the doorknob.
"Oh, how could I be so dumb? Axel's gonna be so mad,'" And finally his fingertips landed on cold metal.
Demyx was in fact right. The only thing visible in the room was Axel, seeing as he lit his finger with a light flame. Almost like glue Roxas had his arms wrapped tightly around Axel's waist with his blue eyes locked shut. His body gave a quiver every time lightning blasted from the sky. Axel on the other hand didn't look too happy about being clung to.
"Axel?... Axel?...Axel?" Roxas proceeded to tug on the fabric of his shirt when he got no response out of him. "Axel?... Axel?...Axel?... Axel?... It's dawk in hewe..."
"I've noticed," The redhead's anger was rising at an alarming rate.
"Axel?...Axel?... Ax?"
"What?"
"Can you fix it?"
"No. I can't fix it," Raising even more...
"Axel?... Axeeeel?"
"What?"
The toddler flinched, yet preceded with his questioning, "When's the stowm gonna stop?"
"I don't know!"
When Demyx stepped through the door, Axel immediately sent a glare at him. Demyx swallowed a lump in his throat and muttered a quick 'sorry'.
"Hey Rox?" It was evident that Axel wasn't about to tolerate clingy behavior that day, not while his mood was like a time bomb on the verge of exploding. He could only guess that since Axel had been thinking on it nearly all day his temper had only worsen. Roxas pulled his eyes away from Axel's shirt to focus on Demyx, "Let's go, 'kay?"
"No!" Roxas quickly buried his head back into Axel's shirt, "'m stayin' hewe with Axel..."
Heat was beginning to radiate off of the redhead. That was never a good sign. Roxas was only holding on tighter, and the tighter he held, the tighter Axel had to clench his fists to keep his anger at bay.
'Damn it! If Demyx didn't go and open his big mouth about Roxas I wouldn't have thought this much on it in the first place... Damn him! No... Damn them both right now!'
Axel thought as he glanced down at Demyx who was currently working on prying Roxas off of him. The only thing this resulted in was Axel being tossed around like an old used toy.
"Demyx!" Axel finally snapped. The other nobody twisted his head up with an oblivious expression, "That is not working so will you knock it off already?"
"S-Sorry..."
"Just. Take. Him. And. Leave!"
Demyx gave a nervous nod, "Rox, come on. Xigbar's going to go fix the lights right now. Me and you can go practice saying your 'R's' while we wait."
As tempting as the offer sounded Roxas didn't move at all. He began to mumble something, but due to the fact that his face was still buried in Axel's shirt his words became incoherent.
"What?" Demyx moved closer to him to hear.
Roxas pulled his face away so that the older nobody could see that there was the threat of tears falling from his eyes.
"I-I'm not gonna leave Axel... Somethin's a mattew, I can tell." Another loud clap of thunder that made Roxas give out a little cry, "I-I'm not gonna leave 'im because... because I love him," His grip tightened a considerable amount, "A-And people who love each othew stay togethew."
The room grew uncomfortably quiet for a moment. Even the violent storm outside seemed aware of the situation and took a quick intermission. Demyx stopped with his mouth slightly open, awestruck by the sincerity in Roxas's voice. His eyes blinked slowly as he looked between his two friends. Axel's whole body flushed, his blood began to boil, and fists shook from how hard he was clenching them.
After everything Demyx said to him... After all the times this kid reminded him of his Roxas... After a wasted rainy day of confusion... 'I love him'?
How DARE he?
Of everything he could have possibly said he decided to drop the 'L' word, the word that was virtually forbidden to even think about in the Organization. He even had the nerve to say it after hours of Axel sitting around with that being the only damn word on his mind?
That sort of language was not about to be tolerated. Not at all.
"Now," Axel finally opened his mouth to break the silence that seemed to be hanging over the room. The volume of his voice increased as he went on, "You had to say it didn't you Roxas?"
Quicker than Axel could throw him off, Roxas backed up on the couch once he caught sight of how threatening the others eyes looked.
"No, you know what? Forget that! The fact that you keep saying it is bad enough!" It got to the point where Axel's words could no longer be expressed while sitting down. The second Axel stood up Demyx snatched Roxas off the couch completely, standing as well to act as a safety wall.
"Cool it Axel! He didn't mean it and you know it!"
"Well then I think it's time he learned right now so I don't have to hear it anymore!"
Roxas flinched. He was holding on tightly to the back of Demyx's leg as he looked up into Axel's face. Axel had been frustrated with him a few times before but never had he seen this before. This wasn't even Axel... This was just scary...
"Axel!" Demyx knew exactly where Axel's outburst was headed, and it wasn't going to end well if it continued. The area around Axel's feet sparked red before flaring up into a raging fire that added as his backdrop, "Axel, stop it! Why are you doing this? Isn't this what you wanted to protect Roxas from?"
"That was before you opened your mouth about it!"
"Axel, knock it off!" Demyx nudged Roxas's backwards with his foot, just enough so that he was out of danger.
"You," Axel pointed directly at Roxas, causing him to shrink back, "are a nobody! You have NO heart! NO emotions! Larxene already told you once, and now I'm telling you that she wasn't lying!"
Roxas gripped the back of Demyx's leg harder as he let tears flow freely from his eyes. Hearing Larxene say it was bad enough... but hearing Axel screaming it at him was in a category all its own. Since Larxene had told him he pushed it out of his mind completely, just focusing on his love for Axel and how real it felt. It was apparent now that it wasn't about to be returned.
The pseudo emotions in the castle within the past week were getting ridiculous. Nobodies that normally didn't show a drop of feeling were showing them without even trying to hide it. Yes, it was overwhelming, but an outburst like this was too much.
"How could you say that to him? He loves you!"
"None of us can love Demyx, stop pretending! Roxas can't love me, I can't love him back, you can't love Zexion, none of us! Got it memorized?"
Now it was Demyx's blood that was beginning to boil. It wasn't even the comment about Zexion that did this. Oh no, that wasn't it at all. Axel had just gone too far this time. No matter how opposed to violence Demyx was, he hauled his fist back, thrusting it forward so that it landed just to the side of Axel's face to knock him back a few feet. With Axel's focus thrown off the flames behind him began to sizzle out. The musician pulled back with his eyes wide, not believing that he just had the courage to lay a hand on his friend.
Axel stood there with his hand resting on the spot Demyx's fist had just retreated from, "What was that for?"
"Someone had to knock some sense into you..."
"What are you talking about? I'm telling the truth. There's no sense in pretending when it's not real and never will be!"
"Do you even realize what you just said to him?" Demyx said in a hushed tone. When he got a blank stare from Axel he continued. "Well it doesn't matter now anyway. You just ruined everything! Don't worry about Roxas loving you or anything. You might have just taken care of that..."
Axel's hand fell limply at his side as he replayed his own speech over in his head. In his mind all he heard was his voice screaming at Roxas. Screaming everything he had wanted to strangle Larxene over. Screaming the things he wanted to protect Roxas from.
"Shit..." He mumbled under his breath. His eyes scanned the darkened room with the aid of a flame at the end of his finger. Double shit! Roxas wasn't behind Demyx's leg anymore. Heck, Roxas wasn't even in the room anymore! "Where is he?"
Demyx gave a slow shrug, "I would have run away if I were him too."
Axel's face now screamed something it hadn't shown in a long time. Overwhelming guilt. Without even a word, Axel walked right past Demyx into the abandoned halls of the castle. The first place he was headed to look was his bedroom, Roxas's usual safe haven in times of trouble. If Roxas wasn't there Axel had thoroughly prepared himself to search the whole castle from top to bottom.
He screwed up big time. That's all he knew right now.
xXx
Demyx followed at least ten feet behind Axel, not saying a word. They both stood outside of room number eight with eyes shifting in the dark for any sign of Roxas. The room was completely still, as a matter of fact the whole hallway was still. It was just like a scene out of a horror movie where the unsuspecting group of victims gets killed off one by one.
With a sigh Axel shut his bedroom door. Unfortunately his small flame didn't illuminate a terribly large area, never would it be able to spot Roxas in such a large place.
Axel headed down the hall towards a flight of stairs. He knew that a few feet behind him was Demyx still following him like a lost puppy somewhere in the shadows.
"Demyx?"
The musician snapped to attention. He didn't expect Axel to want to talk to him after he gave him a good punch in the face, "Yeah Ax?"
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"What I said to Roxas," Axel tilted his head a little so that he could look over his shoulder at Demyx from the corner of his eye, "You're right. I was supposed to protect him from all that stuff but I didn't."
"You... tried."
"But I just failed."
Demyx didn't say a word after that, still shuffling after Axel from a reasonable distance. He didn't know what to make of that comment. Was he supposed to agree with Axel or give him some sort of hope that this could be patched up? More silence passed, only the sound of their footsteps in the barren halls until Axel broke it.
Demyx?"
"Huh? Oh, what?"
"I didn't do it because I was angry at Roxas."
At that, Demyx gave the back of Axel's head a strange glance, "What are you saying?"
Axel stopped moving completely with his eyes concentrated on his feet. The blond was able to catch up to him so that he could see the hesitation in Axel's face, "Axel?"
"I'm not going to get wrapped up in the technicalities of all this and I may not be as intelligent as those higher ups, but what I do know, and know more than anything, is that Roxas means the world to me."
Axel let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding as if a weight was just lifted from his shoulders. He lifted his head to meet eyes with Demyx. In all honesty he was waiting for Demyx to jump up and down with that big dorky grin of his face, saying something along the lines of 'I told you so! I told you so!'. That moment never came. Demyx stood there with the same serious expression. Almost as if he was analyzing Axel's every move.
"If something bad happens to this Roxas, then something bad is happening to my Roxas."
Demyx gave an understanding nod showing that he understood the urgency of the situation, behind the blond a portal opened up.
"Then we need to find your Roxas and quick," He backed away into his own portal, his voice being the only thing that he left behind, "You keep looking for Roxas. I have a plan."
xXx
If Axel even wanted the slimmest chance of finding Roxas in these conditions then it wasn't a job for two people alone. They needed more help. That's where Demyx's plan came into play. The Melodious Nocturne portal dumped him right out in front of a bedroom door in the upper ranked members dormitory hall. Specifically a door engraved with a number six, the Cloaked Schemers bedroom.
Zexion's heightened sense of smell was very powerful indeed. Right now if they wanted a prayer of finding Roxas they would need him most.
Demyx took a deep breath. This time around he wasn't near Zexion's bedroom to spy or stalk. He wasn't even there for the sake of spending extra time around Zexion. He was there not only for the sake of Roxas's safety, but also for Axel and the sake of their love... And that probably sounded horribly cliché, but after Axel had come this far, Demyx wasn't about to let all that progress go to waste.
Before he knew it he was knocking on door number six. The bedroom he had only been in once before and was connected to a night out partying and the aftershock of his actions.
Inside the cloaked schemers room was no brighter then the rest of the castle. Zexion's head snapped up from the book he was reading, the flashlight he was shining on it dropping to the bed, so he could stare at the door. In his mind he just wished the door would open up by itself... or the person on the other end would go the hell away... The latter was probably the best.
Zexion had been very engrossed in his reading all day and the second the blackout hit he wasn't about to let it spoil his plans. Actually, he found a blackout to be the perfect time to start reading a good murder mystery. So Zexion grabbed a flashlight from his desk, grabbed a few good looking books from the library and settled back into his bedroom for the remainder of the night... Until now that is...
He could already detect the mingling smell of salty ocean air and peanut butter. The unique scent of none other then the Melodious Nocturne. How was Demyx to know he was in here anyway? For all that idiotic blond knew he could be down at the library right now. Then that was the plan! Zexion lifted his flashlight back up to his book, slouching back into his bed. He would be very quiet and act as if he wasn't in his room. Soon Demyx would give up and go look for him elsewhere. Problem solved.
"Zex! Open up! We need your help!"
"Just keep quiet... Pretend you're not here..."
"Come on Zexion!" Demyx said in a whiny voice that was sure to get on Zexion's nerves at least so much that the other teen would give a yell for him to stop.
"Not here... Not here... Not here..."
"I know you're in there! Xigbar told me you locked yourself in there all day to read!"
"Not he-... Damn him!"
Zexion made a quick mental note to never tell Xigbar his plans on his day off again as he got up to open the door. It was best to dispose of Demyx quickly so he could get back to enjoying his day off, "What do you want Number Nine?"
The first thing Demyx saw was a bright light being shined in his eyes thanks to Zexion's flashlight. He put a hand up to his eyes so he could clearly see the Cloaked Schemer without the glare.
"Ah, finally Zexion! We have an emergency and need your help."
"'We' meaning who?"
"Me and Axel."
Zexion gave Demyx an 'are you kidding me?' glare. He took a step back into his room, ready to shut the door right in Demyx's face, "If this is because you two idiots lost Roxas again and want me to be your bloodhound then I'm sorry. Not interested."
"Zexion please!" He quickly jumped in the way of the door before it could be fully closed. Demyx pitted his own strength against Zexion's as they both began pushing from opposite sides of the door.
"I told you I want nothing to do with you!"
"You have to help!"
"I'm not obligated to do anything!"
"It's an emergency!"
"Your irresponsibility is not my problem!"
With every ounce of strength he had in him Demyx forced the door fully open. Zexion was tossed back a few feet into his room with the door wide open. "I'm begging you Zexion, I'll even get down on my knees if you want me to but we need your help now!"
The Schemer blinked a few times with his mouth hung open, slightly amazed, one by his strength, and two by how serious he just sounded. As tempting as watching Demyx begging sounded, Zexion let his head fall back and his nose do the work. Slowly but surely a smirk formed on his face as he looked back at Demyx.
"Well then, I've got some unsatisfying news for you both. You're in for one hell of a search."
xXx
It only took a split second for Demyx to catch up to Axel in the halls. Demyx came flying out of a portal, dragging behind him a very unwilling Zexion.
"Axel! Axel! Axel!" Demyx waved his hands around in a frenzy, "We have BAD news!"
When Axel saw that Zexion was Demyx's big plan a glimmer of hope actually came to him. Zexion would be able to find him for sure. Demyx was always in a frenzy over something, that wasn't his concern, but when even the Cloaked Schemer looked on edge about something, Axel's hope dropped.
Zexion pulled his hand out of Demyx's hold. Even the Schemer noted the change in Axel's demeanor as he delivered the bad news.
"I no longer detect Roxas's scent. Water has the ability to wash away a persons scent making it impossible for me to track. This could only mean one thing," Zexion pointed to a window overlooking the city where the storm raged on. Lightning violently struck a power cord outside sending a live wire down into the streets, "Roxas is no longer in the castle."
A/N- Done. So I have news. I have surgery Tomorrow and I really wanted to get this chapter up before then. Anyway, wish me luck everyone!
But, Longest chapter yet! So enjoy and leave me lots of reviews for when I leave the hospital! Haha, I love Demyx's unique scent by the way. I decided Zexion should connect Demyx to peanut butter after that one time he made Zex a pbj sandwich :)
In other news the part where Roxas repeats himself is based off of a real life annoying event. So I was in walmart this one day getting my shampoo. All of a sudden this mother and her daughter came down the isle. The kid was like 4 years old. She was behind me and all I heard was: "Mom, mom, mom, mom, mommy, I wanna see the fish, mom, mom, mom, the fish, mom, fish, fish, fish, can we see the fish, mom, the fish, the fish, the fish, mom, they're right there, the fish, there they are, mom, mom, fish, fish, fish, mom, let's go, the fish, I want to see them, the fish, mom, mom, mom."
And that mother would just not take her daughter to go see the fish...
I half wanted to laugh at how miserable her mother must have been and half wanted to turn around and scream "SHUT UP!"
Yeah... Read and review. Love you all xD