Disclaimer- If I owned Zexion, he wouldn't be such a work-a-holic for sure. He'd sex Demyx up every day.
Warnings- Emotions running rampant.
A/N- Thanks everyone for wishing me luck with the surgery :)
All of your reviews have been amazing. You all don't know how thankful I am for them. Really I am. I've been going through a rough time while I was writing this chapter. Hence, it being so late. I've been really unmotivated and I'm sorry. Your feedback has really helped. You guys are amazing and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint (or that my bad mood hasn't leaked into it to much).
Protecting Me
Chapter 16 : Hearts Were Meant to be Broken.
And I'll never let you go,
Anyone who looked out the window and had a peek at the storm conditions would have said that they were absolutely out of their minds to go outside. Regardless, there they stood, three nobodies with their hoods drawn up in a pathetic attempt to fight against the ruthless storm. The streets of the city were damn near impossible to see in the storm. Fog mingled in between the drops of rain, making the neon lit buildings in the distance appear as nothing but random rings of color scattered in clouds. The alleyways were shrouded due to the black storm clouds lingering over the moon. Lucky for them, Zexion had accounted for such an event and supplied both Axel and Demyx with a flashlight. Even with their own provided light, the only way they could truly survey an area was when lightning decided to strike.
None of the residence ever liked the city, storm or not. It just had that dismal feel to it. There were no real people living in this city beside the Organization. Just shapes, shapes of shadowed, eerie, heartless creatures creeping along the abandoned buildings that still glowed with the light of the living.
"Roxas!"
"Roxas!"
"Roxas!"
Three separate voices bellowed out over the pounding. Hope grew with each alleyway they crossed paths with, hoping that Roxas would come running out, no harm done, maybe just a little cold and wet, but with each alleyway, no Roxas.
Zexion made sure to shine his flashlight in the small corners along the buildings where Roxas could have hid. Occasionally a dusk would shrink back under his light and go slinking away back into the darkness from which it came, but no Roxas.
Axel's breathing grew shallower with every step he took, currently acting as the head of the group. Demyx followed at his heels, having pulled his hood down a long time ago to feel the water slide down his face. Zexion brought up the rear, staying at least ten feet away from the other two for a more thorough search.
They weren't too far from Memory's skyscrape and still Roxas was nowhere to be seen. This was way too far. Axel didn't think Roxas would be able to make it this far, or perhaps they missed him and they were the ones going too far. He stopped in the middle of the street, turning around so that he could shine his flashlight in Zexion's face.
"Zexion, are you positive you're not picking up any scents?"
The teen in question shook his head with his arms hugged around his body for warmth.
"I already explained to you how water affects my ability. It washes away the scents that are attached to the body. I can't even detect you or Nine's scent as of now. We're stuck looking for him the old fashion way."
"Don't you think we've gone too far? Maybe we should backtrack."
"Let's at least get to Memory's skyscrape. There's an alternative route back to the castle from there we can try," Zexion strolled past Axel with his flashlight stretched out in front of him, taking position as the new search party leader, "no need to retrace useless steps when he could be very well moving forward."
Axel followed with his head held low away from the rain. This couldn't have been happening, that's all there was to it. His best friend, the one person who from day one meant everything to him, was missing in such a place. Anything could happen to him. Heartless creatures ran rampant, not hesitating to attack anything that moved. The storm was so powerful that it was causing live wires to fall and small street fires to flare up. It was no place for an unprotected three year old to be running around. Whatever harm befell this current Roxas would surely have an effect on the Roxas he just so boldly confessed love for.
Memory's skyscrape was only a few blocks away, by now perfectly visible from their position. It was the largest, most lit up building in the whole city. Him and Roxas would always spend a good deal of time on the castle roof that overlooked the tower. Sometimes they would go up there at night before retiring to bed;
The door to the castle roof cracked open and Roxas poked his head out. There was Axel, sitting on the edge of the roof after his days mission. The blond ran a hand through his hair as he strolled up behind the other. Axel knew right away that it was Roxas who was shuffling around behind him and tilted his head to see past his shoulder.
"Surprise," Roxas joked as he took a seat beside him. He pulled two sea salt ice cream bars from his pocket, handing one off to his best friend, "You finished your mission early or something?"
"Yeah well, you know me," Axel gave him his trademark smirk.
"Cocky as always," Roxas shook his head with a laugh, "should have known."
Roxas's eyes drifted up to the moon hanging over their heads. He gave Axel a nudge.
"You know what I'm going to do once I get my heart back?" He said once he had gotten Axel's attention, "I'm going to go live somewhere where it's just me. No one else. Completely alone."
Axel raised an eyebrow. That plan sounded so depressing yet the blond looked so optimistic with a huge smile painted on his face. "What a waste of a perfectly good heart."
"No," Roxas shook his head with a complete look of bliss on his face, "I bet when you're alone you have so much time to really think about your emotions. You can think about what exactly brings you happiness or sadness. You can think about who you love and why you love them so much. Once you figure it all out it's probably so much easier to go out and get exactly what you want. You have no one to interrupt you until you're ready... When you're alone like that I bet emotions hit you harder. Maybe I won't live there forever, but for a while I think it would be nice."
And the whole time Roxas had a smile on his face.
He didn't understand why that specific memory came to mind at that moment but, now that he thought about it, what Roxas said that night made a lot of sense.
"Axel?" Demyx put a hand on the fire wielders shoulder to bring him back to the real world. He looked around quickly, having daydreamed for a bit he hadn't really been paying attention. He soon saw that the reason Demyx called his attention was because they had arrived at their destination.
Zexion stood just ahead of him in the middle of Memory's Skyscrape square with his eyes scanning every inch of the surroundings. Due to the light from the tower and the small confines of the area the whole square was quite possibly the only place completely visible in the whole city. Zexion pointed his flashlight towards the alternate route, seeing the shadows of a couple heartless scurry into the exact direction he wanted to take them down. It was strange that the whole square was quiet. Usually Memory's Skyscrape square was the heartless's favorite gathering spot, yet the few visible ones were headed elsewhere.
"I don't think he's here," Zexion turned to the others once they had caught up to him, "Let's go down that path now," He pointed to the alternate route on the other side of the skyscraper. The other route that also lead back to the castle.
"I thought you said he could be moving forward, Shouldn't we check that way first?" Axel pointed off to the dark alleyway leading further away from Memory's skyscrape. Zexion only gave him a skeptical glance.
"Do you honestly believe a three year old who is afraid of the dark would venture into some of the darkest alleys in the city?" Axel returned with a stubborn stare as Zexion began towards his own chosen path, "I would ask you if you're kidding me, but sadly I know the answer would be no." Being quite the stubborn person himself, Zexion didn't waste his time to look back and see if he was being followed. Besides, the heartless creatures behavior was worth further looking into, Roxas involved or not. He thought it would only be wise to follow them.
What choice did Axel have? Zexion was logical, no matter how cocky about it, and most of the time he knew exactly what he was doing. With his free hand shoved deep into his pocket he followed with a less than pleased air around him.
"Your mouth Demyx... I swear if you never opened it..."
The musicians ears twitched under his soggy hair when he heard Axel's voice have the nerve to utter such a thing. Especially since Demyx, this whole time, had been making it a personal duty to try to stay quiet for Axel and Zexion's sakes...
"Me?" Demyx glared over at the redhead, "You think this is my fault?"
"If you didn't bring up all this bullshit I would be fine right now!"
Now Demyx was at his snapping point. For the record it wasn't very easy to trigger his snapping point, but Axel managed to do it in record time, "Are you kidding me Axel! You're blaming me because I just happened to notice something that has been true since you first met Roxas! If you would have just given into your feelings rather then being the stubborn ass that you are, none of this would have happened!"
"I could blame this whole thing on you and trust me I want to, but that wouldn't be entirely fair now would it?" Axel nudged Demyx towards the teen walking ahead of them. The one trying desperately to block the other two out, "I'm blaming you and Zexion for this mess. Does that work better for you?"
"What!" Demyx glared up at him, "Don't blame this on him! I brought him into this. He's only helping!"
"Helping my ass! If he wasn't in the picture you wouldn't be so into this new feelings crap! Meaning this situation would be non-existent! So yes, I blame you and Zexion."
Zexion just kept his eyes peeled straight ahead, trying to keep his mind focused on other matters to block out the nonsense babbling going on behind him. Although now and then pieces of the fight would slip past his ear barrier and the only way he was able to curb the urge to throw a punch was by squeezing his fists until his knuckles turned white.
"That's it!" Demyx finally yelled. His feet stopped as he just stood completely still in the alley, "I have had it up to here with this Organization and everyone in it! I try to be nice, I try to be funny and all you guys do is blame something on me or call me an idiot! I quit!"
"Demyx! Stop acting ridiculous and keep walking!" Axel stopped not too far ahead of Demyx.
"Then make me Axel!"
"Trust me, I intend on it," He moved threateningly towards Demyx, "I'll give you till the count of three..."
That was the point where Zexion had enough of the fighting. He began to fear that if he squeezed any tighter his flashlight would snap in two. "Hey," He turned towards the others to watch the two in another heated argument. They didn't even hear his tiny voice over the yelling.
"You'd never have the courage to really leave, so stop acting stupid and come on!"
"See! This is exactly what I'm talking about! You think I'm stupid!"
"HEY!" He drew in a deep breath and let out a loud yell. It wasn't his voice that caught the others attention, but rather the loud boom of thunder that added as Zexion's backdrop, "Are either of you going to take this seriously or not?"
They both returned with blank stares. As said before, seeing Zexion yelling out of pure fury was a rare occurrence, and definitely one that called for a round of blank stares.
"Either you two knock it off or I leave. I have better things I could be doing on my day off, so choose now."
The rage of the storm seemed only to worsen at the tone of Zexion's voice. The wind picked up, whizzing brutally by a nearby building. The wind was fierce enough to snap a nearby water pipe in half and sent the heavy metal tube flying down straight at an unsuspecting Zexion.
Forgetting about the argument all together, Demyx instructed his feet to spring to life. Just before the falling pipe could get a chance to hit its target, Demyx had knocked Zexion off his feet and out of harms way. The two fell to the ground just as the pipe collapsed mere inches away from them.
Before Zexion could even comprehend what was going on he was lying on the ground after a fall that had knocked the wind right out of him. He remembered throwing his hands behind him in an attempt to break his fall, but as of now the wrist he landed on had no feeling in it what so ever. Laying on top of him was his savior, Demyx, panting heavily with his hands twisted into Zexion's cloak out of panic.
"Shit! Are you two okay?" Axel left his arrogance behind him and was by their side in an instant. Their safety was indeed more important than some argument.
The Cloaked Schemer couldn't answer right away. He drew up his good hand and lowered his hood, his hair becoming immediately as soaked as Demyx's. Speaking of that boy, Demyx had not moved. It was still water logged body against water logged body, something that seemed to make Zexion incapable of coherent speech.
"I'm fine," Demyx nodded to Axel, then focused on the blue eyes that seemed to be gawking at him, "Are you okay Zex?"
"I-I...I... I - you- you just- that pipe could have-"
"It's no big deal, are you okay?" Demyx finally shifted off of Zexion so that he could sit beside him. When Zexion attempted to push himself up, he had to clench his teeth together in pain to hold back a yell. That wrist he landed on was definitely broken.
"Oh your wrist is broken! I'm sorry, don't move it okay?" Demyx took his hand.
"No! My wrist is fine, it's just a break, happens all the time," He pulled his wrist away. Why the only thing he could do at that current moment was stare at his savior was beyond him. It was like he couldn't peel his eyes away, "It is a big deal. I didn't see that pipe falling... If that thing fell on me I'd be dead right now."
Axel looked down towards their feet where the object lay. While in the air it looked a lot smaller, but the pipe was in actuality a little longer than his leg and definitely much thicker and heavier. Zexion was right. It probably would have killed him.
"I- I don't understand," Zexion couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the fact that Demyx acted on such an impulse. An impulsive move that anyone with a heart would have labeled as 'fear'.
"I-I'm sorry Zex, I just-"
"Hey, I hate to break up a moment or whatever you call it," Axel said as he stood from the ground, "but we should probably get moving. It's dangerous enough out here and we still haven't found Roxas."
Zexion nodded dumbly, trying to push himself up from the ground. From all the things rushing around in his head he seemed to forget about the condition of his wrist and fell back to the ground. It only took a second for Demyx to rush to his side, giving him a helping hand to his feet.
"I don't need assistance," As soon as Zexion was up he yanked away from Demyx, his wrist cradled in his good arm. He walked quickly ahead of the others just as he had done before with the incident pushed to the back of his mind, his face completely flushed.
He knew he should have stayed indoors.
xXx
Halfway down the beat up alley Zexion stopped moving, his eyes searched the dark attentively. Down under his feet he could feel something moving, almost like ants trickling over bare toes. He let his flashlight scan down near his shoes and surely enough he found the source. Scattering around, sunken into the ground were hordes of heartless. Zexion's eyebrow twitched up as he noticed the abnormal number of creatures headed towards the same back alley.
"Keep moving Zexion, we don't have time for breaks," Axel said as he caught up.
"No wait," Zexion threw out his good hand, halting the redhead, "look at all of those heartless."
Axel shrugged, failing to see the importance of this, "They gather all the time. Just let them go."
Zexion shook his head, "Not that many at once."
He quickened his pace, never the type of person to break out in a full run. He followed the path the heartless were all leading him down. By the numbers, all these heartless were leading Zexion down the exact same alleyway. He knew something had to be attracting them. Heartless were strange creatures, they did enjoy gathering, but rarely without reason. Normally that purpose was a human's presence or a strong heart.
"Zexion, they're just doing what they normally do!"
"No, I'm telling you, look!" Zexion pointed his flashlight, piercing the darkness of the alley. At first there was nothing remarkable that would give the heartless a reason to be acting strangely, but as his light moved around the dark the others were able to see exactly what the heartless were crowded around. A fallen pile of rubble and pipes presumably knocked from some building by the storm. It almost seemed as if they were trying to find an opening to bury into the rock, "They wouldn't gather like that for nothing."
Axel rushed past Zexion. His chakrams materialized into his palms and in a few good knocks the cat-like creatures all disappeared into the darkness from which they came. The pile of rocks were being propped up by two steel pipes. One pipe was preventing the weighty rocks from falling while the other was creating a space that was allowing the creatures to peer through.
"Axel! Axel! He's here! It's Roxas! Zexion was right!"
Axel chased off the very last of the heartless when he heard Demyx's voice calling out to him. The musician was peering through the pile of rubble, calling in to the supposed person inside, "He's not moving!"
Demyx was shoved roughly out of the way to make room for Axel. The pipes holding up the rocks apparently protected Roxas when lightning decided to strike and send a brigade of rubble upon him. Cuddled up under the rocks through the tiny hole was where the tiny blond nobody lay. The others yelled and even tried to reach their arms through the hole but he seemed lifeless. He looked passed out cold.
"This whole thing is my fault..." Axel pulled away from the rocks, his body completely drained of energy upon seeing his friend lying motionless. His legs no longer were able to support his weight and he let his body collapse against the wall of the building. When he peered through the hole, it wasn't this new Roxas that had accidentally been dropped into his non-existent life, but his Roxas. His Roxas wasn't moving! His Roxas wasn't moving... and the worst part was, it was his entire fault.
"Axel..." Demyx leaned down beside him.
"This whole thing is my fault... Not yours... Not Zexion's. I was the idiot. He's not moving right now because of me."
"Axel... H-He'll be fine, okay? It's no ones fault..."
Zexion bit his lower lip as he massaged at his wounded arm, unfortunately at the point of swelling. The only way they would know for sure if Roxas was alright was to get him out of there. They certainly didn't have time for Axel's self pity. Zexion set his flashlight down at his feet and with his usable hand he began to push rocks from the pile, further exposing the hole leading down to Roxas.
When Axel heard the clamor of rocks hitting the ground, he quickly abandoned his spot and ran to help Zexion. His one arm certainly wasn't going to do it alone. Soon even Demyx began to tug at one of the pipes holding Roxas captive.
"Demyx!" Suddenly The Cloaked Schemer reached out and grabbed the blonde's hand. For a moment the hands stayed connected with both water drenched faces heating up. "I mean," Zexion immediately dropped the hand and let it wander to the back of his neck in a nonchalant manner. "if you pull out the pipes first then all the rocks they're holding up are going to fall onto Roxas. Just move the rocks, that should be enough to get him out."
Both nobodies nodded, and Demyx was left with a tingling sensation still in his hand. Zexion's inner thoughts still remained: Should have stayed indoors and note to self, don't touch Demyx.
About five minutes went by in which the three sets of hands were beginning to grow numb from digging through the mess that was keeping Roxas captive. With the combined efforts of Axel and Demyx one of the largest of the rocks was removed, leaving an opening for rain to seep in. Freezing cold drops fell onto the pale unconscious face below. The sudden wetness forced the toddlers face to scrunch up before his eyes gave a confused blink.
Demyx's eyes opened wide as a previously non-responsive face finally glanced up at him. "Axel! He's awake!"
The frantic voices that followed just barely broke through to Roxas. His eyes were blurred from the fog of the city and pain was rushing through his body, specifically his leg. Mobility was impossible at that point. He was being held in place by the rocks and pipes surrounding him, Of course little by little more air was able to get through to him. All the new information Roxas had to take in was too much and he soon found himself closing his eyes again to escape. The only thing that reached him then were the voices.
"Just a bit more!"
"We don't have time for that. He's blacking out again."
"I think the holes big enough now."
"Zexion can fit through! He's small!"
"I don't think me pulling him out with one arm would be wise."
"Axel's just as thin."
"All you have to do is reach in and pull him out as gently as possible."
Just as the voices had begun to fade away, a warm pair of arms wrapped themselves around Roxas's body. He felt himself being jostled away from the rocks and pipes. A not so distant voice gave a command to 'pull', and it wasn't long after that he felt the continuous flow of water on his skin mixed with a blast of icy cold air.
At that point, Roxas was resting lifelessly in Axel's arms. The only indication that he was all right came from his chest moving gently up and down. Axel ran his hand across Roxas's face, feeling an unnatural warmth. Someone being so warm in such cold temperatures was not a good sign.
"Axel," Zexion gazed over Axel's shoulder, "don't let him sleep out in this cold."
"Come on Rox, wake up. Can't sleep here," Axel mumbled into his ear as he gave him a small shake.
"Come on Rox," Demyx laid his hand on Roxas's back, whispering close to his ear.
Almost as if the mention of that name brought him back, those electric blue eyes of his fluttered open and his fist clenched tight around the fabric of Axel's jacket. For once in his life, the protective hold Axel had on him was unnerving. That moment that Axel had his arms wrapped tightly around him was the moment in which everything came flooding back to him. The memory of what happened what had to have only been an hour ago. Axel had showed off a side of himself that Roxas never thought would be directed towards him.
Their seemingly happy reunion was interrupted when Roxas began to weakly push away from Axel, muttering under his breath. The toddler's attempts to get away were so weak that Axel was oblivious and kept holding. It took one final harsh shove that took all of Roxas's strength to even let Axel know he was trying to get away. Unfortunately, that was the shove that sent Roxas toppling backwards straight out of Axel's arms.
If it had not been for Demyx standing there in time to catch Roxas, the sick toddler surely would have hit the ground.
"Roxas, what's gotten into you?" Axel tried to run a hand through Roxas's hair but the blond promptly hit him away and nuzzled in closer to Demyx, "Rox?"
"Youw a liaw..." Roxas attempted to yell back in a strained raspy voice, showing he was definitely sicker then he seemed. Axel couldn't tell if he was crying or if the rain was just running off his lashes, "I hate you!"
"Rox, I-"
"I said I hate you!"
Just as Axel was about to reach out again he held back. For some reason those words stung deeper than they should have. Perhaps because Axel knew in the back of his mind that Roxas had every right to say those words to him. Roxas let the sincerity behind his words be known by retreating away from Axel and burying into Demyx for protection.
"Axel," Zexion rested his good hand on Axel's shoulder to hold him back once he noticed the pained look in his jade eyes, "worry about this later. It's urgent we get Roxas back to the castle before his conditions get any worse."
xXx
The walk back to the castle was both quiet and awkward. Roxas huddled up to Demyx for warmth and, since no one was letting him go back to sleep, stared blankly into the darkness of the city. This time Axel was the one that lagged far behind the others with his hands shoved in his pockets as they crossed the bridge.
The whole castle was still dark when they got back. Apparently no one had been able to figure out the sudden power outage yet. So it didn't seem strange at all to the group when they saw a few flashlight beams down the hall. It didn't seem even the least bit threatening until one of the flashlight holders mouths opened up into a wide grin. What little light that was in the hall bounced off the holders teeth.
"You screwed up nicely this time Axel." A high-pitched feminine voice called out. Zexion pointed his flashlight towards the source. Standing in the path of the four entering the castle was not only Larxene but Vexen, Saix, Luxord, Marluxia and most importantly Xemnas.
Axel, Demyx and Zexion froze right where they stood as Xemnas approached them.
"Needless to say, I am appalled with the behavior over the past week by many of you." The whole hall grew silent as Xemnas's voice echoed off the walls. Everyone there knew it wasn't just Axel he was disappointed in, therefore to talk at a time like that only meant suicide.
"Not only did I discover the under-table experiment Vexen has been conducting but, once again, Axel you failed to uphold your responsibilities and let a mere child run into the city. Not just any child, but my keybearer! Do you not comprehend Roxas's importance to this Organization Axel?"
Xemnas didn't think he realized Roxas's importance? Of course he realized Roxas's importance in the Organization! Xemnas needed him, Axel couldn't function without him... What kind of a stupid question was that?
After a moment of silence from Axel, the redhead's eyes drifted to Larxene, giving a harsh glare at the fact that he knew her role in this before focusing back on Xemnas.
"You think I'm the worst of the Organization for endangering Roxas ONCE? I've done nothing but try to protect him while Larxene and Luxord over there have been making underhanded bets out of it the whole time! I think that's a bit lower then anything I've done!"
"I don't want to hear it Axel!" Xemnas boomed back, insulted that Axel would even have the audacity to try to detour his accusations, "For your carelessness and constant misconduct you should be a dusk by now! As for the rest of you who have had ANY involvement in this experiment you will be taken care of! As for now, Axel, you are to relinquish full responsibilities of Roxas to Demyx."
"But sir-!" Axel jumped between Demyx and Xemnas.
"Would you enjoy becoming a Dusk tonight Number Eight?" That threat was sure to make Axel back off.
Demyx shrunk back when Xemnas's eyes landed on him, "Nine, I want a full medical report on Thirteen on my desk by morning. Are we clear?"
"Yes sir," With Roxas safely in his arms, surely falling back asleep, Demyx scurried back to his room away from danger.
"Zexion," Xemnas turned his attention to the other teen who currently had his eyes fixed on the ground and was still comforting a wounded arm. Xemnas of course caught sight of the injury, "I want you to go with Lexaeus and get your wound tended to."
Zexion gave a nod and was led away by the stronger nobody to the infirmary. He couldn't help but throw a sorry look back at Axel.
"And you," Vexen was the last to face Xemnas's fury. Needless to say it was the scientist himself he was most furious at. "I had best see you contained to that lab for the remainder of the night! If I don't see a cure in Demyx's hands by morning you had best believe you will be a dusk by lunch!" Before Xemnas could even blink Vexen had disappeared into a portal.
The air in the hall was still until Xemnas left, followed as always by his right hand, Saix. Regardless of the tension that previously held them, it only took Larxene a few seconds to begin her cheer of victory.
"I knew it! I knew Axel would fail!" She leaned into Luxord who had a look of despair on his face. "How much do you owe me now?"
Axel's eyes narrowed dangerously. For a second it seemed as if he were going to lash out at the girl as he had done many times before. Instead of a physical attack, he let his words do the work for him.
"This whole fucking thing was your fault wasn't it Larxene? Roxas was not only taken from me, but is now sick too all because of you!"
"It doesn't matter Axel," She stood in between Luxord and Marluxia looking all too pleased with herself, not even a drop of remorse for Roxas's condition. A thing like Axel's anger wasn't about to stop her from gloating, "as long as I win, and you lose, then it doesn't matter. Always one step ahead of you Axel. That's what I care about."
Axel came to the point where he didn't care anymore. Larxene's words went in one ear and out the other. At that point, sleep sounded like the only option. No more Roxas to look after, one more wrong move and he'd be turned into a dusk for sure, what else was there to do?
"Well then I hope you're happy with yourself," As Axel walked past her, she set her hands on her hips and gave a very confident 'I am'.
The redheads fists clenched tightly, his nails digging into his palms. For a moment, every onlooker was certain that Axel's intention was to turn around, throw a punch and get back at Larxene for everything she's done to him. On the contrary he was holding back everything he truly wanted to do to Larxene. He pictured it as if Roxas was there. The poor kid probably would have been standing behind Axel, trembling under the females presence as before. With Roxas's sake in mind, Axel kept his eyes glues straight and kept walking away.
xXx
"'m cold..."
"I know," Demyx set his flashlight on the stand beside his bed and wrapped another blanket tightly around Roxas's shoulders' "my heaters not working right now, the power's still out... Sorry," He wished he could do more to help the kid but the problem was the power outage left the castle in such a bad state. The heat was dropping and none of the outlets worked.
The poor kid looked like a train wreck once Demyx finally got a chance to look him over. His skin was paled yet hot to the touch. He shivered under a huge mess of blankets and quilts with his leg stuck out for Demyx to treat it. Where his leg had been wedged between the rocks was a considerably large gash. Demyx himself was fairly decent when it came to healing injuries so with the aid of a few potions he was sure he could have the leg patched up in no time. The high fever was the thing that was worrying him most. Roxas's emotional state was another thing in itself.
He sighed deeply as Demyx rested a hand on the wound ailing his leg. He let out a small hiss in pain before he could actually see what Demyx was doing.
"Axel really loves you," A soft blue light emitted from Demyx's fingertips, working to close the wound as much as possible, "he does have a funny way of showing it though."
"He said," Roxas looked towards Demyx with drowsy eyes, then idly down at his hands, playing with his fingers,"he said we'd a'ways be togethew..."
"And he hasn't let you down yet. He just went looking all over the city for you in the pouring down rain! You know how much Axel hates water!" Demyx laughed as he pulled away from Roxas's leg to find his potion supply. Roxas didn't seem the be paying much attention to the story of Axel's rescue, he was still pouting as Demyx dropped a box of potions onto his bed.
"Axel's always been protective of you like that," Demyx continued while pouring some thick sticky liquid onto a spoon, "I remember when you were assigned this one mission in Hallow Bastion. It was a pretty dangerous one too. The second you didn't come back from that mission on time Axel was right there by your side before anyone could say otherwise. You got so mad at him for completing your mission... But the truth is, if Axel never showed up you would have been in some real trouble."
The strange thing was, for a second Roxas actually remembered something someone was saying to him. It was one of those out of body experiences, like it had happened to him... but it wasn't him. He saw someone... It looked like him only not so small. Axel was there too.
"I hate you Axel!" The older Roxas clenched his fist, taking a fighting stance in front of an uninterested Axel, "Did you hear me Axel!"
"You were already injured, what did you want? Did you want me to leave you there to die!" Axel finally yelled back in defense after having stayed silent for so long.
"Well what do you think Axel? That I'm some baby that needs rescuing every time one little thing goes wrong! Thanks for showing me up in front of the entire Organization!"
"I wasn't trying to show you up! I just wanted you back alive!"
Roxas grasped at his side that had been wrapped up in bandages to mask a large gash, "How about you just stay out of my life from now on, all right Axel?" He turned on his heel and gave the door to Axel's room a good slam.
Demyx held the spoon up to Roxas's lips, "You were pouting and ranting about how aggravating Axel was all night, but before you went to bed you two were right back to being the best of friends. Now drink up! This stuff'll make ya go right to sleep!"
Roxas's mind couldn't wrap itself around the fact that that could have actually been him in that memory... Come to think of it, the other Roxas...
He sighed as he gave the potion a suspicious look over. After assessing that the stuff probably tasted horrible, he pursed his lips together. Demyx prodded Roxas's lips with the tip of the spoon, wishing that Axel were here to at least help him. Axel was indeed the master at getting Roxas to do what he wanted. Demyx knew that no matter how many times Roxas said he hated Axel, he really didn't. Never could and never would.
"Come on Rox, I know you feel really bad right now and this is going to help!"
His mouth was still locked tight.
"Don't make me force you to take this Roxas..."
Still nothing.
"Oh no! Larxene's here!" Demyx quickly pointed randomly causing Roxas to follow his finger, mouth slightly agape. He took that opportunity to slip the potion into the stubborn toddlers mouth. Roxas spat and sputtered once it was all down.
"Heeeeey!"
"Don't worry about it," Demyx ruffled his blond locks with a laugh, "you'll be asleep before you even have time to get mad about it."
No matter how much Roxas tried to fight the drowsiness taking over, the potion slowly began to take effect just as it was meant to, "Axel said I couldn't love..."
"Like I said before, Axel says some things he doesn't mean," Demyx helped lay Roxas back in bed, tucking the blankets tightly up to his chin. By the time his pillow was fluffed, Roxas was out like a light.
It figured. The fever was probably making him drowsy enough, mix it with a powerful healing potion and Roxas was probably dead to the world. It was a good thing, he needed the sleep.
Demyx pushed himself away from the bed with a relieved sigh. He figured it was best to work on Roxas while he slept, that way he couldn't put up a fight. Well first on the list was to get them both changed into some dry clothes. Just as he got up to go grab some clothes from the closet, a light knock sounded from the door. He muttered a quick 'come in' assuming it was just Axel who probably couldn't stay away.
A much shorter nobody stepped into the room, slowly closing the door behind him and clearing his throat to get Demyx's attention.
"Zexion?"
"Yeah."
"What are you doing here?"
The shorter teen held his arm, shifting anxiously on his feet under the questioning gaze of Number Nine, "I figured it'd be a waste if I went through so much to make sure Roxas was safe and didn't at least come to see how he's handling recovery."
"Oh yeah, well it's probably just the flu. He would probably benefit more if he were with Axel though," Zexion's reminder prompted Demyx to keep looking for those clothes.
"If I'm not mistaken, Roxas did voice his displeasure with Axel not to long ago..."
"They're both so stubborn," Demyx laughed as he leaned down next to Roxas, "These two always get frustrated with each other. The thing is, they love each other. Roxas could never hate Axel. Doesn't matter how loud he screams it. They're both just too stubborn to admit it."
"So I've noticed..."
"Speaking of recovery," Demyx directed his attention to Zexion's injuries, "how's your wrist?"
"As good as it's going to get I suppose," He shrugged.
Demyx set the clothes he had found on the table beside the bed so that he could first examine Zexion. His wrist had been carefully wrapped in a bandage, thanks to Lexaeus, though probably in a great deal of pain from being bound up so tightly. Just as carefully, the blond unwound the bandage, relieving the swollen appendage. He placed his hands atop of it and muttered 'heal' under his breath. The same blue light that worked on Roxas's leg glowed at Demyx's fingertips. The moment Demyx took his hand off of Zexion's wrist, all the pain had evaporated.
"Better?"
Zexion flexed his now fine wrist, no longer seeing the need for a bandage as he stared in amazement, "You certainly have a talent."
Demyx shrugged with an airy smile, "It's nothing really. Water has a certain degree of healing energy you know," He gave Zexion a quick smile before resuming his role as Roxas's caretaker. Zexion still stood beside the door, opening and closing his palm as his mind mulled over everything that happened. And there Demyx was, working as if his mind wasn't rushing at a hundred miles per minute.
Normally Zexion's mind was in a rush, he was considered the youngest scientist of his age after all. He was always thinking up something in his head, usually a lot faster then he could even comprehend what he was thinking. Never had his mind rushed like this before. It wasn't mathematical equations or scientific knowledge rushing through his head... To be honest he didn't have a clue in the world as to what was happening at that moment.
"Hey Demyx,"
"Yeah?" He was concentrating so hard on Roxas he failed to notice Zexion had actually addressed him by his real name.
"You acted so fast on the impulse to save me earlier. In order to save someone I suppose you would need to feel some sort of worry or perhaps fear and... you cannot feel. It wasn't even as if you had to think about it, work to fabricate that emotion. It was just there."
Demyx only paused for a second. "Why would I need to think about saving your life?"
"Why though? Why did you do it?"
"Because I just care about you, that's all."
"You don't care about me, caring requires feeling! You can't feel those emotions required to care. There must be some logical reason behind your actions," Zexion stepped closer to Demyx, seeming to beg for there to be a simple scientific answer for this. Something that he could actually understand.
"There's nothing to explain Zexion!" Demyx threw down Roxas's wet clothes he had just removed, "I'm no scientist, I can't put it into scientific terms for you, but I know what I feel and it's real! If you think I'm lying then why do I 'feel' hurt when people insult me or I 'feel' happy when I accomplish something! They're not fake!"
Zexion found himself backed against a wall as Demyx had advanced on him, "Or when I'm around you I feel-" He stopped himself just as Zexion began to give him curious glances. Only then did he realize he had backed the poor shorter nobody into a corner, "You know what? Never mind. I shouldn't have to explain myself to you."
"You feel what?" Zexion watched as once again Demyx tried to act as if none of that had happened... Amazing, "Tell me!"
"You wouldn't care."
"I want to know!"
"No," Demyx's own face began to heat up as he felt he could no longer meet eyes with Zexion. "just... just go! I need to take care of Roxas!"
"Demyx! As your superior I order you to tell me!"
"You wouldn't understand! None of you higher ups understand!" He conjured up the courage to face Zexion and pressure him towards the door. "Now just-... Go! I need to concentrate!"
Confusion was written all over Zexion's face as he was ushered out the door faster than he could even register it. The slam reverberated throughout the room, followed by the sound of Demyx's back hitting the wall behind him. He slowly sank down to the floor with his head buried in his hands. He didn't acknowledge it in front of Zexion...
How fast his mind was racing.
How badly his hands were shaking.
Or how red his face was tinged.
He wished for once Xemnas was right, he really did. He wished he couldn't feel that way towards Zexion. There was no denying it, and at that point, he didn't even know why he tried to hide it. In the bed across from Demyx, Roxas tossed and turned in a feverish sleep. The toddler was reaching out, grasping for someone that wasn't there. His Axel wasn't there...
Demyx rubbed at his temples. Everything was wrong!
Roxas wasn't supposed to be lying in bed all alone and sick. He was supposed to be cuddled up next to Axel in a sound sleep.
And Demyx definitely shouldn't have been huddled up like a little kid on the floor of a pitched black room, wishing he had just spilled his 'heart' out to Zexion.
He had the chance. Zexion was right there begging him to do it, and he couldn't bring himself to tell Zexion he needed him more than anything. Demyx always admitted to the prospect of having emotions without a heart, but when he was around Zexion he didn't feel as if it was a 'maybe' sort of thing. It was there and he knew it. He felt it, Roxas felt it, Axel felt it, and now Zexion seemed like he wanted to know what it was like to feel it.
Everything was wrong.
A/N- I hate power outages... Sadly I know then all too well. My town CONSTANTLY gets them.
Anyway, yes I realize memory's skyscrape is closer to the castle in the game but that city disappointed me. When I saw the city in the preview of KH1 I was like "That city world is gonna be EPIC!" but then I got there... And there was very little epicness, and it wasn't even that big. I was like wtf? It looked huge and epic in the preview.
So in my own mind I made the city bigger... and this is also my attempt at making it more epic. Oh, and there really is another route if you go to memory's skyscrape. On the opposite side from where you come back from the castle. Except the opposite side is blocked by a truck crashed into the side of memory's skyscrape...
Where the heck they got a track from I don't know but I think it had something to do with Demyx... and the need to feel like he can actually accomplish something without screwing it up. Look! He succeeded! The truck is sufficiently blocking a perfectly good path xD
So since there was no truck in this story blocking the path... it obviously takes place before Demyx's truck incident. And in other news... the episode in which L died has aired... I feel as if Zexion has died all over again xD Oh god I still picture Zexion with English!L's voice!
Read and Review :)