"Why am I here?" thought Lexaeus.
In a sense, he already knew the answer; the silver-haired teenager attempting to murder him at the moment made it abundantly clear. He was here to test Riku's resolve, the goal being to make Riku succumb to his inner darkness, whereupon the Organization could (hopefully) make him theirs.
It was an answer, but not the one the Silent Hero was looking for.
"Why did Aeleus lose his heart? Why am I part of the Organization? Why am I here, at Castle Oblivion?" That was the true meaning of his question.
As he swung his tomahawk dangerously downward for a crippling blow (which Riku rolled away from) he realized that he knew the answer to this first part. "Xehanort's experiments with the mechanics of the heart went horribly wrong, and now here we are." It was as clear and real as the vibration of the tomahawk's impact on the castle's floor.
His heart wasn't really his primary focus, actually. True, Organization XIII was formed out of a mutual interest in recovering the members' hearts – by any means necessary. That, Lexaeus noted, was the second part of the question; he and the rest of Xehanort's team formed the core of the effort, and the others had come along later, united by the same goal of completion.
Right now, however, Lexaeus couldn't focus on his lack of a heart. He had a job to do.
Riku leaped halfway across the hall which hosted the battle, slicing the air in two for a shot at Lexaeus' neck that barely missed. "And for my own sake, I'm sure as hell going to do it right," he mused, grabbing Riku and throwing him to the ground.
Besides, this was just a small part of the plan, if Zexion had it all figured out. With Larxene out of the way (thanks to Sora's efforts), the path to the traitor Marluxia was clear. It was, of course, wrong for one Organization member to strike down another. That was just bad for everyone – it meant one less ally in their quest for hearts.
But was Marluxia really an ally anymore?
Not if his designs on Sora were any indication. As the Keyblade master ascended the floors of Castle Oblivion, his memories faded. That was the nature of the castle. Consequently, however, he was becoming more and more unstable, and this fact had not escaped the Graceful Assassin. Marluxia saw in Sora an unstoppable weapon – one he could use against the Superior. And if he could betray Xemnas, he could betray Lexaeus and the others in the basement, and was that really healthy? Could they withstand such an assault?
Not without doing the same to Riku as Marluxia intended to do to Sora. Not without a superweapon to rival Marluxia's.
Besides, what was the Organization's number one law? Eliminate all who betray Organization XIII. Marluxia fell into that category; Lexaeus was contractually obligated to destroy him.
Lexaeus considered all this as he ran towards Riku's injured body on the floor before him, swinging his tomahawk around for another strike. He hadn't gone five steps before his opponent recovered, twisted to the side, and delivered a particularly stinging attack to Lexaeus' leg. He stumbled, but only for a moment. He'd suffered worse.
Lexaeus whirled, assuming a defensive stance as Riku lunged for him.
"Which leads me" – parry – "to the third part of the question, I suppose." Boy and man spun at the same time, aiming to kill but only filling the hallway with a resounding CLANG as Keyblade and tomahawk, Soul Eater and Torn Heaven, met with equal, earth-shattering force. "Vexen is gone, but if we can subdue Riku we can certainly hold our own against Marluxia." That, Lexaeus concluded, was his reason for being here. That was what Zexion was after: Riku. And if Zexion was after him, it followed that Lexaeus was as well.
Riku and Lexaeus struck again and again, neither backing down as the castle shook with the fury of their confrontation. So far, the plan was working. More and more, it seemed, Riku was giving himself over to his anger and inner darkness, which was exactly the point. "Should make Zexion's job easier," Lexaeus noted as he raised a wall of rock to counter Riku's offensive.
Unfortunately, it wasn't making Lexaeus' job any simpler. The rock wall held for a moment or two, and was then shattered by a ball of dark fire. Riku launched himself straight through the dust as it cleared, viciously cutting and stabbing at the surprised Nobody, who found himself – for the first time in what seemed like forever – giving ground. To a smaller opponent, no less.
"This was not what I signed up for." Lexaeus blocked and blocked again, taken aback at the sheer conviction and vindictiveness of his opponent's assault. He had once thought that no human could move so quickly, dodge and leap and roll with such agility, as a Nobody, but every second he fought Riku contradicted this belief. The darkness gave Riku strength and speed beyond what he should logically possess, and Lexaeus was continually reminded of this – especially when some of Riku's attacks slipped through his defenses.
His skin broke, and was repaired; bruises appeared, and vanished; the natural healing of a greater Nobody was working double time to keep Lexaeus on his feet. And so was Lexaeus himself, returning Riku's attacks with equal ferocity and finally driving him back across the sterile hallway. The tomahawk lashed out to meet the Keyblade, both weapons extensions of their masters' conflicting objectives.
Lexaeus lunged for Riku, swung, missed, tore through a pillar. Riku backflipped away from the impact, raising his Keyblade to block the debris Lexaeus resourcefully flung his way. Running back across the hallway at terrifying speed, Riku thrust his Keyblade forward for a killing strike. Lexaeus barely managed to bring his tomahawk up in time, blocking the Keyblade's deadly advance. The combatants held their positions for ten agonizing seconds, each straining to hold back their opponent's attack and overcome their defense.
Simultaneous bursts of dark energy and earth energy from both sides did nothing to tip the balance of power either way, but created a shockwave that hurled Riku and Lexaeus to separate ends of the hallway – Riku standing before the entrance, Lexaeus guarding the exit, as they had begun. The difference was their mutual weakened state; both were equally matched in terms of power and ability, and each had worn the other down quite a bit. Lexaeus fell to one knee, struggling to catch his breath and leaning on his tomahawk for support; Riku stood twenty feet away from him, defiantly standing despite the exertion of the fight.
"You're finished!" Riku roared, leaping the distance and readying a savage thrust with his Keyblade.
"Far from it," thought Lexaeus, and stood to meet him. It was clear that the battle had taken a toll on his young opponent; he left himself wide open for a counter, a fact which Lexaeus took great advantage of.
"Don't mock me!" Lexaeus bellowed back, swinging his tomahawk up in the blink of an eye. The force of the blow generated an audible, sickening WHACK; Lexaeus guessed that he had broken several bones. Possibly Riku's spine. That would take some heavy-duty healing when all was said and done.
Riku hit the ceiling, his face crisscrossed with shock, defeat, and agony, yet verbally expressing these with only a grunt of pain and surprise. His body fell limply to the floor, Soul Eater clattering uselessly to the floor beside it. Riku did not move, nor did he make any further noise.
Lexaeus surveyed his fallen opponent, then nodded in satisfaction. His job was done.
"Now to get him back to Zexion. Marluxia is as good as dead."
Lexaeus moved to collect the body, limping slightly; he had diverted some of his power from healing to fighting, with tangible consequences. "You were too much trouble," he addressed Riku's body, voicing his exhausted thoughts. "I'll be feeling you for a few days," he added silently.
About ten feet from Riku, Lexaeus stopped. The fallen body of the young Keyblade wielder was alive with swirling tendrils and clouds of dark energy, burning with dark fire, and in seconds was completely obscured. Lexaeus gasped in surprise, at once bewildered and on guard. Was this another trick of Riku's – some way of manipulating the darkness he hadn't counted on?
The darkness cleared up, coalescing into a familiar form.
Riku – but not Riku. His clothes had darkened to purple and black, a sign of his connection to the darkness within. A moment passed, and he rose to a crouch, seemingly waiting for an attack.
Common sense told Lexaeus that he should immediately provide one. Something was wrong – he could sense Riku's scent, but it was weaker, overpowered by something darker, fouler, stronger, entirely different –
Riku disappeared, and a line of searing pain from hip to shoulder interrupted Lexaeus' frantic thoughts. His tomahawk fell heavily to the ground; the Silent Hero would not wield it again. Lexaeus nearly screamed in shock and agony, but the sound was choked off almost as soon as it was made.
Riku materialized behind him, frozen in a follow-through position, a triumphant smirk fixed on his face.
"Too slow."
The voice was Riku's, but there was another layered over it, a deeper voice, a darker voice…
Lexaeus suddenly realized where he had heard it before; this realization was all he would have time to consider.
He lurched forward, struggling to stay on his feet. "You are the Superior's –" Heartless,he finished in his head. He had no need to address what Riku had become, to tell him what he already knew, to justify further the smirk he knew Riku had to be wearing now.
Darkness appeared in the air surrounding Lexaeus, like holes eating away at reality. It swirled around him in ever-increasing quantities as Lexaeus' nonexistence slipped away.
"Forgive me, Zexion." He had failed to protect the Cloaked Schemer, possibly cost him his chance at survival. Marluxia faced Zexion on a clear field.
"This was not a fight I should have started."
Lexaeus disappeared in a contained, controlled storm of darkness. It almost seemed to taunt him as it consumed him: Look what Riku destroyed you with. Look at your ultimate fate: the very darkness you sought to tame.
He had done his job too well.
---
A/N
Sorry for taking so long with this update. My schedule is a LOT clearer now (it being summer and all) and you should be seeing a lot more from me over the next few months. I realize I made a mistake with Xemnas' fight - there's a whole sequence of him getting beaten up after the Million Laser attack. I'm trying to be as accurate as possible, and that was a slip of the old memory banks. I'm not impressed with "Nothingness" in general, though, so there you are. Unity Through Chaos will also be updating soon, and I'll have another "Tale from the Factory Room" as well. (Hint: The latter involves a spaceman in black and a Spanish fencer.)
Love and thanks to the readers
Zellarius Burvenia
