A/N: Hey, sorry this took so long! The next few chapters will really advance the plot more, I promise. And thanks for reviewing, those of you who reviewed!
The following morning, Xiyak and her group portaled back into the World That Never Was, thoroughly exhausted. To avoid any awkward questions, they had reappeared in their respective rooms. Some of them, like Darxet and Cavex, went straight to sleep, while others went to check up on the other Nobodies in the castle.
"Amenxtthe, there you are," Xaldin said, catching sight of his protégé in the Grey Area. "As you should know, the missions are beginning again tomorrow. I hope you haven't been using your time off wastefully."
Amenxtthe looked up at him and shook her head, Belxeo squawking irritably at the action. "I haven't, Xaldin. I've been training."
Xaldin nodded. "Good. Show me later in the Hall of Empty Melodies."
"Just tell me when to go," she said softly, watching him drift off to a different corner of the room. Because it was still early, there were very few people around. Amenxtthe felt tempted to fall asleep there on the couch, but she pushed herself to her feet and teleported to the dormitory, just outside her room.
Just as she was about to go in, she heard voices coming up the hall. They sounded low and urgent and, curious, she ducked inside her room and cracked the door, pressing herself to the wall. Though the crack was small, it was just wide enough for her to see who was walking up the hall.
Outside, Axbrem, Leixym, and Axel slowed to a stop at the junction between Kyrox and Amenxtthe's room. Leixym leaned on the wall, eyes drooping. Every so often she would yawn loudly and shuffle her position, as if she were trying to fall asleep standing up. Axel had dark circles under his eyes and he rubbed at them with his knuckles, trying to pay attention to what Axbrem was saying.
The Archer was the only one who seemed unaffected by lack of sleep; her eyes glowed with determination and her voice was loud but level as she said, "It's morning already, so they're all probably back at the castle. I think we should talk to each of them alone, but we should be subtle about it. What we want to know is where they were and why."
"Riiiight..." Leixym yawned, "So...here's a thought...since you kept us up all night, why don't we hold off on the investigations until tomorrow? You know, more chances to get them all alone."
"Leixym has a point," Axel said, "we're starting missions tomorrow and if I know Saïx at all, he'll pair everyone up. That gives us all a chance to be paired up with them. You could even go to Saïx and request someone in particular. I don't think he'll care as long as we get the missions done."
"Alright, fine...who pairs with who?" Axbrem asked.
"I'll volunteer to get Xiyak out," Axel said, "How about Leixym asks for Syaxsal, and Axbrem, that gives you Darxet, Amenxtthe, and Cavex to choose from. We can go get Kyrox and Demyx and have them take the two remaining. We can corner him after dinner. Satisfied?"
"Not until we're all back on even ground," Axbrem sniffed. "But I can live with that."
"And I can live with another twenty or so hours of sleep!" Leixym announced, turning and heading off down the hall.
Amenxtthe shrank from the door as the younger girl passed, having heard the entire exchange. She could hear the muffled parting words as Axel returned to his own sleeping quarters and Axbrem lingered in the hall for a few minutes longer, brow furrowed in thought. Eventually, she also turned and headed back to her own room. Amenxtthe waited until she heard the soft click of the door closing and eased herself back into the hall, looking around.
I should probably warn Xiyak as soon as possible, the blue-haired girl thought. Or...
She teleported again, fading from the hallway without a sound.
~ XXVIII ~
When Amenxtthe returned to the Grey Area, Saïx was not in his usual spot by the window, instead, Xigbar was standing there. He was surveying the activity that had sprung up in the short time Amenxtthe had been away. A small crowd had gathered around one of the couches and she made her way towards it, Belxeo flying along ahead of her.
"Awesome, Axille! Do it again!" Amenxtthe picked out Knexedy's voice and pushed her way into the little group, standing next to Knexedy. Xavier, Roxas, Axille, Zexion, and Cavex were there as well.
Amenxtthe glanced at Cavex for a brief moment, catching the other girl's eye. 'I need to talk to you later,' Amenxtthe mouthed. Cavex nodded in understanding and returned her attention to the group.
Axille nodded at Knexedy and glanced up at Amenxtthe, smiling. Amenxtthe took a step back as Axille suddenly shifted form and shot up in height, becoming taller than Roxas. Her hair lengthened and darkened considerably, turning from light brown to deep blue. Her eyes changed shape and became silver, and a black blob rose off her coat and became a Belxeo clone. The real Belxeo squawked in alarm and flew in front of the clone, flapping his wings angrily. The clone squawked in reply and puffed up its feathers, hissing.
"And that isn't all I can do," Axille-Amenxtthe said. She held out her hand and Amenxtthe's staff materialized.
"See, Amen? She's a perfect copy! Here, Axille stand up!" Knexedy exclaimed.
Axille stood and her Belxeo clone alighted on her shoulder. Amenxtthe summoned her weapon and held it out for comparison, trying to get over the shock of comparing weapons with her exact double. The staves were identical, right down to the occasional scuff mark from battle. Axille lifted her staff and cast Fire, the burst of flame turning into a sparrow. The illusion remained for a moment, then disappeared into a soft puff of smoke.
"Number XV's mimicry abilities have improved dramatically," Zexion mused. The Schemer had been watching the whole event quietly, standing off to the side. "When she first joined, she could barely hold a form for long and the forms were half-accurate, at best. Now she's done a perfect copy."
"Aw, Zexion, is that a compliment?" Axille teased, changing back to normal.
"Hardly. It was a perfect copy; even the scent changed," Zexion replied stiffly. "It's a very useful skill."
"But Zexion isn't your element illusions, too?" Xavier asked, hopping over the couch and sitting next to Roxas.
"It is, but her mimicry and my illusions are two very different things," Zexion said. "For example, her mimicry only affects her own person, whereas mine can be projected over a large space and can change many if not all of the area's attributes."
"Sooo...does that make yours better or hers better?"
"Considering vanity is something I am incapable of feeling, I will assume you meant that in a productive sense. It depends on what our respective abilities are being used for."
The subject of the matter, Axille, tried to pay attention to the Schemer but found the conversations to be taking a downward turn towards boring. She hopped off the couch and looked around, seeing Amenxtthe starting to leave. She followed the older girl to the doorway and Amenxtthe turned around, looking down at her quizzically.
"Hey Amen, where're you going?" Axille asked, "Can I come too?"
"Wouldn't Roxas wonder where you are?" Amenxtthe asked.
Axille shook her head. "Noooo...he's going to hang out with Xion and Axel later. He told me to make sure I've got somethin' to keep me busy."
"Well then, I'm supposed to meet Xaldin in the Hall of Empty Melodies soon to train. If you stay off to the side, I don't think he would mind letting you watch."
Axille nodded excitedly and tagged along at Amenxtthe's heels as the older girl led her away from the Grey Area. "Okay! That sounds like fun!"
~ XXVIII ~
In a different part of the castle, Kyrox, Anix, and Xylle were preparing dinner for that night under Vexen's begrudging supervision. Xylle was, as usual, quiet and reserved but the two close friends Anix and Kyrox were contentedly chatting as they put the meal together.
"Back to work tomorrow," Anix said conversationally as he helped Kyrox measure out the ingredients to a meatloaf. "You know, we actually haven't done much work lately...Even before the siege, we had only gone on maybe one or two missions."
"That's because our first mission nearly killed you," Kyrox replied.
"Right...well, at least I've got earplugs now," Anix said fairly.
"I spoke with Saïx earlier; he said our next mission will be recon in a relatively safe world. It's a bit tame for my tastes, but I don't think he'll be sending us out to destroy giant Heartless immediately after so much time off," Kyrox speculated.
"Yes, all this time off has rather spoiled you neophytes," Vexen huffed. "Frankly, I believe the Superior is being too gentle with you all."
Xylle shoved past the scientist roughly, causing him to stumble into the counter. Xylle smiled a little and set a tray down next to Kyrox and Anix, not even trying to feign innocence.
"Xion and I will be searching for some items for synthesis on our first mission back," Xylle said. "I'm actually looking forward to it because we haven't gone on a mission together since our first one."
"Really? Huh...well, good for you," Anix said.
"I'm actually surprised," Xylle admitted, "I didn't think he'd be so ready to send the two of us out together."
"Why wouldn't he?" Kyrox asked.
"Well, it's because we both passed out during the siege. Axille did too, but I heard she's going out with Xigbar and Roxas tomorrow," Xylle said. "I guess I'm micro-managing a little, but he didn't even have us looked at to make sure we didn't suffer long-term."
"Do you think you suffered long term?" Kyrox asked.
"I feel fine, but I'm concerned about Xion and Axille," Xylle replied.
"That would be very sweet if you had an actual heart to be concerned with," Vexen said. "Instead of being pseudo-emotional over things out of your control, why don't you hurry up with making sure the rest of us don't starve tonight?"
"Now who's being pseudo-emotional over things out of his control, Vexen?" Xylle huffed, turning back to the cooking.
"You will remember what rank you hold in this Order, Number XXVI," Vexen growled warningly.
"Xylle, come on, don't rile him up," Anix said softly. "We're almost done here."
Xylle remained in a glaring contest with the Academic before turning away irritably, helping Anix measure out the last of the ingredients. Everyone fell silent for a while as Kyrox set the meatloaf in the oven and they started to clean up the kitchen.
Eventually, Anix spoke up again, but his words were directed to no one in particular and his voice was soft and thoughtful:
"You know...sometimes I wonder how much we can depend on each other. If we're so quick to argue and bother each other, how are we ever going to hold up in case of another major threat? Lately I've been feeling like the siege just further broke apart an already unstable organization. I don't think we'd survive another catastrophe like that."
~ XXVIII ~
"Alright, that's enough for today," Xaldin said. He and Amenxtthe broke apart, disentangling their weapons from each other. Amenxtthe was sweating, her muscles screaming in protest. She dismissed her staff and backed away from the third member, trying to regulate her breathing. They had been training for close to three hours, and Amenxtthe swayed unsteadily on her feet, shifting her weight around to try and regain balance.
"Obviously we're going to need to devote more time to training, if you're this weakened after a session," Xaldin observed. He seemed unaffected by the strenuous activity and he opened a dark corridor, looking back at his protégé.
"Clean yourself up before dinner," he barked. "And while you're at it, deposit number XV in her room."
He nodded over to Axille, who had curled up on the sidelines and fallen asleep. The little mimic was snoring gently and Amenxtthe nodded.
"I'll take her. Cavex, would you help?" she asked.
Cavex had been sitting next to Axille, gently rubbing the little girl's back as she slept. Cavex looked up when her name was called and nodded at Amenxtthe, ducking her head politely to Xaldin as he departed.
"Getting her home? Yes, I'll help," Cavex said. She gathered Axille up in her arms and went to join Amenxtthe, looking around.
"Cavex, do you know who you're going to go on a mission with tomorrow?" Amenxtthe asked, her voice carefully neutral. Cavex sensed something off and looked up at her, quirking her brow quizzically. Amenxtthe jerked her head to the side a bit and opened a dark corridor, looking down at the shorter girl.
"No I don't...why?" Cavex asked as they headed through the portal.
In the space between the dark corridors, Amenxtthe stopped. The doorway behind them closed and she looked around, sighing.
"No cameras here...I overheard earlier that Axbrem, Axel, and Leixym noticed we were missing from the castle last night," she said seriously. "I haven't told Xiyak yet, but Axel and the others came up with a plan to interrogate us all on the missions tomorrow, and they were going to ask Saïx to pair them off with us after dinner."
"Oh no," Cavex said softly. "What do we do?"
"First, let's drop her off," Amenxtthe glanced at the bundle in Leixym's arms, "then we should go find Saïx. If the two of us go on a mission together, then none of them can corner us."
"Alright, that sounds like a good idea. When do we tell Xiyak, Darxet, and Syaxsal?" Cavex asked as they resumed walking.
"Xiyak will probably get the idea very quickly," Amenxtthe admitted. "She's very sharp and highly guarded. Darxet might be a bit more of a problem, but we can probably warm him before he leaves tomorrow. Syaxsal...Honestly, I don't think Saïx will send her with anyone other than Lexaeus. Only he really knows how to carry out missions with her."
The end of the corridor finally came up and they stepped out outside of Roxas' room. Amenxtthe knocked and the door open; evidently, the thirteenth member wasn't home.
"He was out doing something with Xion and Axel, right?" Amenxtthe said softly, recalling what Axille had told her earlier.
"Numbers XVI and XXVII, what are you doing up here?"
A cold voice from behind startled them and they turned around. Axille shifted a little in Cavex's arms, disturbed by the movement, but settled down again. Saïx was standing behind the girls, eyes narrowed slightly.
"Oh! Good evening, Saïx," Amenxtthe said. Cavex looked down and avoided eye contact, oddly quiet.
"I'll ask again, why are you here?" Saïx repeated.
"Axille fell asleep in the Hall of Empty Melodies," Amenxtthe explained. "We were just taking her back to her room. But, actually, we were going to go look for you after we were done. We had a question about our missions tomorrow?"
"Yes, what is it?" Saïx asked.
"Can...can we do our mission together?" Cavex asked quietly. "We work really well together and we might be able to get it done faster, and we could definitely do a better job working together."
Saïx looked at them for a long while and then turned away.
"The missions for tomorrow will be discussed at dinner. I have to speak with the Superior beforehand, but I will put your request in with him," he said.
"Alright, thank you Saïx," Amenxtthe sighed.
He departed and the two girls turned around, walking into Roxas' room. A quick glance told them which side was Axille's; the mimic was surprisingly messier than her roommate, and she had a disturbing collection of theater masks scattered over her side of the floor. Cavex went and set her down on the bed and Axille rolled over, still snoring away.
"She's such a heavy sleeper," Cavex sighed. "It's a wonder how Roxas can get her up in the mornings. Amen, do you think we'll get to work together tomorrow?"
Amenxtthe shrugged. "I'd like to think we will, but we can't be sure until dinner. It should be starting soon anyways. Come on, let's go and try to find Darxet."
Cavex nodded and the two girls left together, leaving the door cracked slightly behind them. In the relative darkness of the bedroom, Axille stirred on her bed and sat up, honey-colored eyes clear of any remnants of sleep. She blinked and thought about the entire conversation she had heard, from the moment Cavex picked her up, awakening her, to the moment Cavex and Amenxtthe left.
"Missing from the castle, huh..." Axille wondered aloud. "Well, what were they missing for?"
Suddenly, she got an idea. Eyes lighting up, Axille hopped out of bed and hurried out of the bedroom, heading in the opposite direction of the dining room.
~ XXVIII ~
"It would seem everyone is here," Saïx said. The dining table was full, except for the one absent spot that belonged to Axille. Roxas looked over at the spot next to him and shook his head.
"Not everyone! Has anyone seen Axille?" he asked.
Amenxtthe spoke up, "She's in your room, Roxas. Cavex and I dropped her off there after she fell asleep in the Hall of Empty Melodies."
"Lucky her," Demyx said mournfully.
"You've had three days to do nothing but sleep," Xigbar pointed out. "If that's not enough shut-eye I don't know what to tell ya, kiddo."
"As I was saying," Saïx said, preventing anymore conversation from starting, "I have all of your mission assignments for tomorrow. The reason I am announcing them now is to avoid any chaos getting organized tomorrow morning. Numbers II, XIII, and XV will gather information in the Land of Dragons. Numbers III and XIX have been assigned to train at the Beast's Castle. Numbers VI and XVIII, you are to return to Neverland and track a giant Heartless that has been lurking there..."
As the Luna Diviner continued on, Amenxtthe found herself glancing down the table at Cavex every few minutes. The twenty-seventh member had her gaze trained on Saïx, listening intently. Across the table from her, Darxet appeared to be wringing the tablecloth nervously. When Amenxtthe and Cavex had cornered the male earlier and warned him, he seemed to panic a little.
"Numbers XVI and XXVII will be dispatched to Halloweentown to locate a large Heartless. Numbers VIII and XXII have been assigned to Port Royal. And finally, Numbers XXIII and XXVIII will go to Agrabah," Saïx finished. Amenxtthe saw Darxet pale and Axbrem shot him a glance, noticing. There was a collective sigh of relief as Saïx sat down and everyone began to eat.
Belxeo pecked at a roll Amenxtthe set down and she sighed, looking across the table at Cavex. The purple-haired girl was looking around curiously, her fork poised over the lump of meatloaf she had put on her plate. As Amenxtthe watched, Cavex focused on Axbrem. Belxeo chirped at Amenxtthe, startling her out of her thoughts, and she looked down at him and stroked his head plumage with a sigh. Belxeo crooned softly and flew up to sit on her shoulder.
"You know, I'm actually really glad we're going back to work tomorrow," Knexedy was saying to Leixym. Amenxtthe turned her attention to the conversation, listening idly.
"Really?" Leixym yawned. "I'm with Demyx on this one, I think I could go with another three days of sleep."
"How?" Xavier asked, staring at the ponytailed girl. "I'm practically going out of my mind with nothing to do but sit around!"
Amenxtthe sighed again and sat back in her chair, petting Belxeo idly. The conversations thinned out to mere background buzz as she contemplated the missions of tomorrow.