So, here it is! Chapter 4 is up! Sorry, it took sooo long… but, I was updating another story. I really shouldn't have posted so many. XD Underlined italics are XV's thoughts. Anyhoo, there will be a character death in this, and more of the plot is to be revealed :D And, this chapter is a bit longer than the others, which is why it took so long. (And the fact I only wrote a couple paragraphs a week Heehee. ) I deserve cookies. And a beating, because Larxene is going to be nasty-sadistic. Anyways, the last pairings were a joke, to throw you off. That's why they are not the same pairings as you have read. Teehee. Have fun!
Disclaimer: Psshaw, I TOTALLY OWN IT. That's why there is no yaoi in the game. ;)
NEXT DAY
"Zexion?" Demyx asked, striding behind the slate haired Nobodie.
"What?" Zexion huffed, indignantly closing his lexicon.
"Before I ask, what were you looking at?" Demyx asked, attempting to peer over Zexion's shoulder.
"If there were any after effects to Moiris Devmal, the heartless that was inside Elaxveri. Apparently, there isn't." Zexion explained, holding the lexicon to his chest. His hands traced the spine of the book, memorizing the ridges, going up and down with the curves of the letters. Demyx sighed.
"No, of course there isn't. Why? Is she sick?"
"No. Well, yes. The Cat played with her mind, but it hasn't worn away yet. I thought the heartless had triggered something and made it last longer, but I think the cat is just finally getting back at us." Zexion shuffled over to the couch and sat down, the mulleted blonde right beside him.
"On her, though? It was Luxord and Axel's fault, goddammit!" Demyx glared at the couch, as though it had done him some personal wrong.
"Not… completely. Besides, he couldn't get at them anyway. Why not go for the weakest member?" Zexion scowled, lifting his nose at the sudden scent of lilacs and spearmint.
"Elaxveri? Is that you?" Zexion called out to the dark hallway, pausing in his conversation with Demyx the figure in the dark shifted, taking a cautious step forward. A figure walked into the room, with steely blue eyes and burgundy hair.
"He-llo." She said, smiling slightly.
"Come sit down, XV." Demyx laughed a little, patting the spot beside him on the sofa. She sat down beside him, back straight. Her cloak was impeccable, as always, and the only difference in her appearance was that she had put her hair up, long bangs falling into eyes.
"What, are you imitating Zexy's hair now?" Demyx laughed again, brushing the hair behind her ear. She blushed a little and hastily pushed the rest back, since her intentions had not been to copy Zexion. Her hair was just like that. Demyx watched with amusement as she struggled with her soft hair, constantly pushing it back as it fell into her eyes again and again.
"I was just teasing, XV. Your hair seems unruly, let it be." Demyx smiled. Elaxveri let out a relieved sigh. She really didn't want anyone angry, not since she was so new. Anything could get them angry, or at least trigger a memory of anger. She wasn't sure what they would do, and she sure as hell didn't like what Saix had done.
"How was your mission, XV?" Zexion asked, placing the lexicon on the lap and leaning against the side of the sofa.
"It was …interesting. The cat… he… doesn't like me, I …think. He and Saix… are… alike." She said back, voice completely void of emotion. She hadn't yet been able to fake emotion as well as the other members. Or were they faking? Sometimes it looked so real, especially when Roxas and Axel were speaking.
"You can speak now? It took the others much longer…" Zexion smiled, almost proud.
"Why do you say that?" Demyx inquired, completely ignoring the fact that this was the first time Elaxveri talked and pulled her on his lap. Elaxveri struggled, and Zexion gave him a rather harsh glare, but Demyx didn't move her. Eventually the red head stopped struggling and convinced herself that this was ok.
"Because… he tried… to … do what Saix…. did, but… Axel stopped him... Axel doesn't… like the cat… much. I could… see that, but he won't… tell me…. why." She spoke again, almost robotic. It was like listening to a zombie speak, it took so long for the noise to pass through her lips. She looked at Zexion, and, within a millisecond, Elaxveri thought she saw a spark of recognition in his eyes. She was sure she imagined it, though.
"I don't think anyone likes the Cat." Demyx smiled, reassuring her. At that moment, though, Marluxia broke in, face contorted in rage.
"Where the hell is Xion? The little whore-"Marluxia nearly roared, pacing around the room, almost as though Xion could be hiding in the cracks in the walls.
"Calm down, Marluxia!" Demyx snapped, lifting Elaxveri off his lap and rushing over to his seething, pink haired lover. He wrapped his arms around Marluxia's stomach, attempting to hold him in place.
"She told Superior about what happened between us, and he got really angry, and now I'm being goddamned watched all the time and this won't help my plan!" Marluxia calmed down slightly, still panting angrily, clutching onto Demyx's arms that were still wrapped around him.
"You know, he was just looking for an excuse to watch you, Marly. She just helped him out. "A blonde with almost antennae like hair walked in, giving off a fierce scowl to Marluxia.
"Shut up, Larxene. You're no better off, Xion knew about Namine. She could bring her up anytime. I bet Xigbar would be pissed." Marluxia growled, leading Demyx to another grey couch across from Zexion and Elaxveri.
"Bring that up again and I'll kill you." Larxene hissed, sitting down in Demyx's empty seat.
"N~a~m~i-"Marluxia smirked, but was cut off by a knife being thrown at his shoulder. The blade sliced through the black cloak, piercing the skin underneath. It would have went in far enough to scrape bone, if a black gloved hadn't pulled it out before it went more than an inch into the skin.
"Goddamit, Larxene!" Demyx huffed, flinging the knife back at her. She caught it quickly, her well trained hands snatching the poorly flung knife out of the air. Marluxia drew in a sharp breath, but otherwise seemed unharmed. Demyx sighed and went to get a wrap for it, but Marluxia held him down.
"It's barely a scrape. Stop worrying about me." He sighed, throwing his good arm around Demyx, who was sitting to the left of him.
"Next time, it'll be more than a scrape, I assure you." The sadistic blonde sneered, twirling the knife between her long fingers. "How's the new girl?" She asked, staring pointedly at Elaxveri.
"I am… fine." She smiled slightly, not wanting to anger this woman.
"What was with you, anyway? Covered in blood and rushed to Vexen's room, that ain't 'fine', little bitch." Larxene laid the knife beside her, with a threatening glare to the pink haired man sitting on the couch opposite to Elaxveri. Larxene sat on the table to the side, giving her a view of everyone in the room.
"The… Cat decided… to attack… me. It... hurt… but I feel better… now." Elaxveri replied, the smile unknowingly slipping off her face.
"Right. He tried to hurt me once, but I beat the shit out of it. What, are you too weak to fight?" Larxene laughed maniacally, picking up the knife and throwing it beside the redhead, narrowly avoiding her ear. Obviously, it was only thrown to show her she could have hit her if she wanted, but is giving her a chance. A warning not to bother her.
"Actually, that's the interesting thing. XV doesn't have any desire to kill, and her weapon has not shown any fatal attacks. It only captures its victims for a couple of minutes, depending on how strongly she slung the whip. It's interesting, really." Zexion explained, closing the Lexicon and placing it beside him.
"So, this little pussy here can't fight? You better do something about that then, XV. Or you're going to be eaten alive." Larxene bared her teeth in a grimacing smile, flicking her wrist and summoning the knife back towards her in a quick motion.
"She can't kill, Larxene. But she can still stop someone from hurting her. I don't she'll be quite like Naimne, so helpless and quiet." Marluxia cut in, laughing when Larxene gave him a look of pure hatred. Her hand twitched, but she must have decided hurting him was not worth it right now. There was more interesting information at hand.
"What'd the Cat do to you?" Larxene asked calmly, although her left eye was twitching.
Maybe anger is the only emotion we can feel… Or is it just a natural reflex? Is she really that good at faking emotions? I wouldn't think anyone is, but…
"He… cut me… and tried to… kiss me… but Axel helped me… and then I… came here." She spoke as though dead.
"Alright… Zexion, any diseases, like with Demyx?" Larxene was starting to sound bored.
"Yes, actually." Zexion replied nonchalantly, staring hard at Larxene through his right eye. Larxene picked at her over grown nails. She had an awful glint in her eyes, as though planning to injure someone later.
"Well? Is it like what Demyx had, or worse?" Larxene chuckled at Demyx, who was cringing into Marluxia's shoulder. Marluxia gave her a cold glare, patting Demyx's cloak covered back.
"Much worse. I do not wish to discuss this right now, Larxene." Zexion stated a bit angrily, peering over at Elaxveri. She sat there with a curious expression on her face, as though she had suddenly just stopped thinking.
"Elaxveri?" Zexion asked, reaching over and pulling the hair out of her face. Her steely blue eyes were glazed over and her mouth was slack, face completely blank. Zexion recognized the expression almost immediately; every organization member had that once in awhile. A memory had just come back to her.
A car screeched by, passing a couple crossing the road. The boy to the side of her was flung to the ground, with a muffled, horrified scream.
"There's a speed limit for a reason! God damn it, someone call nine one one! Did anyone get the license?" A woman screamed to the side of her. The dark car kept going, out of view in a few seconds. The woman's voice barely registered in her mind, though, because she was busy staring at the bloody mass on the ground.
"No!" She screamed, tears filling her eyes as she ran into the road towards her lover's limp body. She lifted his upper body, clutching his head to her chest. She attempted to soothe him, muttering words of reassurance and clutching him tightly.
Elaxveri shook her head, coming out of her daze. She blinked a couple of times, completely confused. What was that?
"XV?" A slate haired man next to her asked, waving his hand in front of her face.
"Yes, Zex… ion?" She barely whispered, voice hoarse. She still very surprised at the image that recently filled her mind. It had made her stomach hurt, and eyes begin to fill with droplets of water. It was rather confusing.
"What did you see?" He asked, dropping his hand and watching her intently, worried that this might have been from the cat.
"I don't… know. A man had been… hit by… a thing that people with… hearts use for… transportation… The man was… sick. I had… rushed over to him… but I don't remember… moving my legs… I had… no control." She stated, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. She couldn't quite figure this out. Zexion sighed in relief. Everyone was watching them, fascinated. Even Larxene, who by now would have hit someone.
"It was a memory. We all have them every once in a while. It's like a flashback to your previous life. It helps you figure out who you were. We nobodies can't escape what we did as humans. It all comes back eventually." Zexion frowned a little, patting Elaxveri's knee slightly. She clutched her arms around her chest, suddenly afraid.
"Well… that was highly interesting. I will be going." Larxene grinned, scraping her sharp nail across Zexion's pale, smooth cheek as she left. Zexion ignored her, ignored the slight trickle of blood running down his cheek, to his neck, which went to his cloak, staining it and mixing with the black fabric. Elaxveri watched, wondering why he didn't retaliate.
"You just… let her… hurt you?" She asked, still watching the blood.
"That wasn't bad, XV. Contrary to what Marluxia said, that was barely a scrape. If I had of fought back, she might blind my other eye." Zexion smiled, wiping the blood off. Marluxia and Demyx got up silently, heading towards Demyx's room.
"She… blinded… you?" Elaxveri asked, voice masking the faintest trace of horror and anger. Ignoring Demyx and Marluxia's retreating backs, Zexion continued.
"It wasn't completely her. I don't think she meant to take it that far, but when she and I were fighting off dusks for our monthly test, she let them all attack me at once. I wasn't ready, and they hurt me pretty bad. I was able to fight them off, but Larxene was laughing so hard, I hit her. We started fighting, and she clawed at my eye. We stopped there, it was nearly torn out. It was disgusting; a chunk of it was inside her fingernail." He grimaced, subconsciously putting his hand over his right eye.
"Why… would she… willingly let you… get hurt… that badly?" Elaxveri's voice had a bit more emotion in it this time, not quite so faint. She wasn't sure why, but she seemed to be faking the emotions subconsciously now.
"We were fighting, she didn't just willingly tear out my eye, she purposefully tore it out. I was too weak from all the dusks fighting me previously to stop her." Zexion put his hand on his thigh, letting his hair fall over his eye again, but not before Elaxveri caught a glimpse of it. It was disgusting, a huge contrast to his other eye. His good eye was well rounded, slightly narrowed at the corners and colored a deep brown, while his other was partially gouged out along the side, half closed, the pupil glazed over and the iris a dull red. Elaxveri gagged slightly, and asked a quick question in an attempt to hide her rude reaction.
"Can't… you heal… it?"
"Yes. Soon enough, Vexen is working on something for it. He thinks it will take another ten days, but with all the problems occurring lately, I'd give him another month. It's been hectic here, and healing my eye isn't on his or my list of priorities. I can still see, so I'll be fine." Zexion forced a smile, reassuring the younger Nobodie. Elaxveri smiled back, assuming this was the appropriate thing to do.
"Where is… Saix? I don't… know what my… mission… is." She stopped smiling, glancing at the round door leading into the 'Grey Room'.
"I believe he's with the superior. Although, he left your mission with Luxord, who'll be along shortly- Oh, here he is now." Zexion whipped his head around at the familiar scent of whiskey. Luxord ambled into the room, stumbling a bit. Leaning onto the doorframe for support, he grinned at the two sitting on the couch.
"Hey, g-guys! ~hic~ Saix is really getting it o-on with the Superior, I could he…he... what's that other word for 'listen'? Either way, he ~hic~ left your mission with me, XV! We'll be going to ~hic~ Halloween Town… I don't like it there." Luxord sounded slightly anxious at the end, but recovered with a quick smile. "Let's ~hic~ go!"
"Luxord, are you sure you can take care of her in that state?" Zexion grimaced, crinkling his nose in disgust. The scent of alcohol wouldn't have been that heavy to anyone else, but with Zexion's refined sense of smell, it hit him more than twice as hard.
"Probably n-not, but who ~hic~ cares?" Luxord nearly giggled, swaying dangerously against the doorframe.
"I'll take her." Zexion sighed, getting up and snatching the crumpled report from the drunk blond. Luxord protested weakly, but eventually just sagged on the floor.
"Zexy… I'm tir…ed." Luxord yawned, covering his mouth with a gloved hand.
"Well, when you inject yourself with toxins like that, then you're going to be." Zexion glared at him, waving to Elaxveri for her to follow him. The redhead got up quickly, walking smoothly behind Zexion. Casting one last worried glance at the drunk in the door, she left the room, following her mentor.
"I apologize for that. In a past life, I assume he was more or less addicted to that… poison." He explained, continuing to walk down corridors of grey, the small girl stumbling behind him. She had tripped over the hem of her cloak, swinging her arms out to regain balance. Zexion noticed none of this, however, as he stepped outside of "The Castle That Never Was".
"Why… are we out… here?" Elaxveri asked, following him outside. A gentle breeze blew her hair back, making her smile. She didn't know why, but she rather enjoyed the breeze…
"I figured that you'd need to get to know the human world first. I shall take you to Halloween Town now, but this is the town we will be heading to afterwards. Take a good look at it, and then you can try making a portal to it after our mission." Zexion shook her out of her muse, opening a portal for him to go through himself.
"Come through here when you are ready." He stated simply, cloak swishing behind him as he stepped into the dark abyss. She gave a slight nod, though it was pointless because he was already gone. Staring at the city below, the first thing she thought was that it would be easy to memorize. Tall, dark buildings with flashing lights. That should be simple enough. But then she looked closer, and noticed all the details, the differences, the similarities, the colors, the textures. Now, Elaxveri realized how hard it could be to memorize this whole city. She looked intently at it from her perch, carefully going over every single line, and after nearly an hour, she was surprised that the town was now ingrained in her memory. It seems having a blank mind can have its advantages. Although, one thing confused her. Why, on one flashing sign, was there a pale, brunette woman with dark green eyes sliding naked down a pole? She would have to see that building afterwards. Erotica! Young whores, for gays and straights! The sign beside the woman said. It didn't make sense to her. She would have to remember it, though, if she wanted to figure out why the woman was up there.
"Elaxveri…" A sound omitted through the portal Zexion had left behind him, and she suddenly remembered the reason why she was studying the town. Hurriedly, she stood up and rushed through it, feeling it close behind her.
"This is Halloween Town. We are going to be killing off as many heartless as we can find, since the mayor has been complaining about the sudden increase in heartless swarming this town. Honestly, I don't know how they can tell the difference." Zexion half glared at this, apparently annoyed with the town in general. They had landed in a patch of sorts, fog swirling around them, the night sky above dark black with white diamond shaped dots scattered about. Not enough to produce much light, but enough so the two Nobodies could identify their surroundings. The patch had large, bumpy and rough orange balls in it, some of them with odd shapes carved into them. Outside of the patch they saw a small town, most of the houses run down and seedy looking, but two houses stood out. One looked like a hospital, with a tower twirling up the side, covered in vines and unidentifiable substances. The other appeared to be a meeting room, the walls not completely caved in and painted black. Beyond that, there was an odd grey hill, the tip of it forming a sort of spiral with a solitary flower on the top of the spiral. That was all they could see, for beyond that there was only a dark, eerie forest. The only people walking around were three children, walking quickly towards them. The first child, with greasy, straight black hair dressed as a witch addressed them.
"Wha' do ya want, ugly?" She spat, lips twisting in a sinister smile. The child behind her, clad only in a red demon suit, pointed a miniature pitchfork at them. The other was wrapped up like a mummy, white ribbons covering everything but his eyes.
"You are more of those people killing our pets, ain't ya?" He glared, jabbing the pitchfork forward, causing Elaxveri to back up. Zexion stood in front of her, giving a menacing look to the three children.
"I don't care about your pet, child. I suggest you leave before you irritate me even more." He growled, eyes flashing dangerously. The two boys gulped nervously, but the girl held her ground, hissing. She looked nearly sadistic, her eyes showing nothing but evil, and her lips still curled in a smile.
"You wanna play a game, ugly? I know a fun game to play." She smiled mischievously, her foot tapping in excitement.
"I'd rather not. Get out of my way." Zexion shoved past her, grabbing Elaxveri's arm.
"Oh, but you have no choice! He told me you have to play. Come on, now!" The greasy haired girl laughed, red eyes rolling into the back of her head. She no longer looked like a child, more insane, her face showing signs of age. Was this a disguise…?
Suddenly the girl fell backwards, lifeless, as did the other two children.
"Zex… ion, I'm… scared." Elaxveri took a step closer to the children, laying a gloved hand on the third child's chest, the one covered in ribbons, his eyes currently screwed up in horror. She could not feel his heart, and yet, he was still breathing. She tried slipping a hand under a white strip, assuming she couldn't feel his heart because of the fabric. Even with her hand on his pale, cold chest, she still couldn't feel anything. She went to go look at the other two children when Zexion suddenly grabbed her around the waist, lifting her up.
"Run. Now!" He exclaimed, shoving her in another direction. His eyes showed hints of recognition. "I can't make a portal, heartless can tell if you're too close, and bringing them to the castle would be insanely stupid." The slate haired Nobodie continued, pulling out his Lexicon. He created a shadow around Elaxveri which seemed to follow her movements. She realized this was meant to keep her hidden, and she began running, pushing one leg after another. Obviously, this wasn't her strongest point, since she was already panting. After a couple of seconds, she realized Zexion wasn't behind her. Coming to a halt, she turned around. And screamed.
Zexion was speaking with a monster. A horrifying, sickening monster that nearly made her retch.
"You can't fight me. You know that." The monster laughed, waving a hand over to the children and restoring their life. Apparently, they were just bait. The sandy haired boy looked Elaxveri in the eye for a second, and managed to communicate with her silently. He has complete control over us. We can't control him. Please, save yourself! He's very strong, and hard to fight. Go… the boy's voice faded in her mind as the monster lifted up the children, only the boy showing any sign of remorse. The girl was cackling uncontrollably, nearly doubling over. The boy with the pitchfork just looked… blank. Or was dead a better word? He stood there, eyes dull and no expression showing, just staring at Elaxveri. So, they could see her, but the shadow was still around her. It seemed the shadow only shielded her from the monster's eyes, because he paid no heed to her.
"Yes, I can. You underestimate me." Zexion growled, sparing a quick glance at Elaxveri. He mouthed for her to leave, but she only came closer, led by some unknown force. Zexion raised his Lexicon, prepared to fight.
"I guess you might have been able to, if the cost of battling with me hadn't been so high." The monster smiled, jagged teeth with stains of blood showing through his cracked, green lips. The monster was hideous. Small, beady eyes lay on the top of his head, large slits that seemed to be his nose between them. Underneath that was a large, crooked mouth and cheeks caked with dirt and blood. Its body was like that of a serpent, but with thick, clawed arms protruding from the side. It was the color of dead grass, with grey along the tail, and a small glimmer of gold at the end of the tail, that looked like a spike. It had a repugnant scent, as though masses of dead bodies were lying beside it. It turned and looked straight at Elaxveri, who was being pulled through the air like a puppet. The shadows around her dispersed, and she fell in front of the hideous thing, unable to move anything but her head.
"What's… happening?" She coughed, spitting out dirt. Zexion stared sullenly at her, knowing that for whatever reason, he couldn't allow her to get hurt.
"As much as I wish to fight you, maybe she can do it for me. Then I could let my master have her, he would be so happy to have someone so young, so fresh…" The monster hissed, eyes lighting up at this prospect. Zexion's face was livid and red; he looked ready to claw the monster's eyes out with his bare hands. But, being a well reserved and intelligent man, he knew he should ask questions now, while no one was in immediate danger, and prepare for a fight.
"If I'm to die, anyway, may I ask who your master is?" Zexion spoke calmly, but his body still tensed, ready to attack.
"Of course not, worthless human. Why would I tell you? It'd be more fun to figure out. Why do you think you're going to die? No one is going to die, except maybe her…" He smiled horrifically at Zexion, placing his other hand over her. Elaxveri felt as though tight, rough strings were being wrapped around her bones, leaving her in nearly unbearable pain.
The monster suddenly picked her up, bringing her closer to his face. He studied her for a moment, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.
"Are you one of the Nobodies? " It asked, doing a fairly quick survey of her body. It placed her back on the ground, watching her stagger at little before she fell, clutching her sides in pain.
"Yes." Zexion replied. His voice was calm, but his eyes couldn't hide his worry and anger. Elaxveri looked like she was in barely endurable pain. She was writhing on the ground, eyes closed tight, hands grasping for anything, anything to rescue her from this pain…
"Filthy creatures. You will die, then." It snarled, waving its claw over Elaxveri and absorbing smoky strings that seemed to come from within her body into his clawed hand. She doubled over, surprised at the sudden loss of the rope-like pain. The creature struck out at Zexion, slashing open his black robe, the claw going through his chest. Zexion staggered backwards a little, clutching his chest. His hand was covered in sickly red blood. The wound was deep, and the creature laughed at him.
"You won't die quickly, filth. It will be torture. She will watch you die." It cackled, lifting up the girl and throwing her beside Zexion. She scrambled over to him, holding tightly to his waist. Zexion kept one arm around her, the other holding his lexicon. He was still bleeding, but it was healing quickly, an interesting trait Zexion had. Elaxveri closed her eyes, trying not to look at the blood before her. She knew she had to do something, but, her whip wouldn't come to her. She flicked her wrist, expecting it to be there. The girl in the creature's hand laughed.
"Want your toy?" She sang, dancing around on the monster's palm. Elaxveri's eyes snapped open, anger evident in them. She let go of Zexion, and, by sudden thought, she raised her hands.
"What are you doing?" Zexion asked, dodging a blow from the monster. She just stood there, hands in front of her with her palms facing out. A moment later, they started to glow. The whip was being slowly dragged out of the girl's grasp, not stopping even when she used both hands. The redhead had a twisted smile on her face, almost insane.
"Let go of it, or you will die." She hissed, as the girl was being dragged towards the tips of the monsters gnarled fingers. It stopped fighting with Zexion too, watching the scene before him. The girl reluctantly let go, falling backwards onto the things palm. The whip flew through the air; right into Elaxveri's gloved, waiting hands.
"You… hurt… him." She said slowly, malice in her tone. The monster just laughed.
"What does it matter? You think that little thing can hurt me?"
"We'll see, won't we?" She raised the whip over her head, sharp sapphires sprout along the sides of it, a diamond at the very tip. The monster laughed, the scene was too glittery and tiny to be imposing. It didn't even notice when the children jumped of his hand, and Zexion shielded himself within shadows. Something was wrong about this picture; it frightened the slate haired man. Someone, or something was about to die, everyone but the creature could sense it in the air. Elaxveri's eyes flashed, her face twisted into pure fury. She twisted her wrist, almost about to strike the creature, her the sapphire on her whip slowing growing into long, jagged knives, the diamond turning into a green poison. Before she struck, her eyes suddenly lit up as though she had just woken up, and her whip returned to normal. Dropping to her knees, she threw the now normal whip at that thing. It didn't kill the creature, merely trapped it as it had that heartless. The creature was hanging in mid air, the laughter still etched onto his face, but surrounded by a diamond shaped cage, completely frozen.
Elaxveri stared at her hands in confusion, as though they weren't even hers. The children surrounded the cage, poking at it, the witch-girl even attacking it, to no effect. That thing would not be able to get out unless Elaxveri wanted it to do so.
"VX?" Zexion asked kindly, laying a hand on her shoulder. She ignored him, still staring at her hands. Suddenly, then, she started sobbing. Hard, heavy sobs, laying her head on the ground, still kneeling. Burgundy hair fell in front of frightened blue-grey eyes, tears falling to the ground.
"I was going to kill! I was going to kill! I can't kill! What's wrong with me! I'm a monster! A horrible, horrible monster!" She screamed, snapping her head and torso from the ground. At the moment, Zexion noticed, everything about her seemed wild. Her eyes were frantic, her hair flying everywhere, almost like a storm.
"Calm down." He attempted to sooth her, still rubbing her shoulder. She was taking quick, sharp breaths, visibly shaking. Zexion wrapped his arms around Elaxveri, pulling her into a tight embrace.
"Calm down." He repeated, stroking her back. She continued sobbing into his shoulder, but her breathing was better. No more sharp, uneven breathing. The children watched, fascinated. Nobodies shouldn't be able to show any form of emotion, let alone this, it was rare although not unheard of. It had happened once before, but only once.
"I'm ok." She mumbled through his cloak, finally letting out her last sob. He helped her up, still keeping a tight arm around her. A small smile was on Zexion's face. The smile looked out of place, like a cat in unfamiliar territory. But it was still there, still happy.
"You're not a monster, you know that? If you had to kill it for your life or mine, you would have. You didn't kill it though, did you? No, not in the end. You spared it, doing what you believed right, since it wasn't about to kill you or me at that time. Although, my opinion would have been to kill it, but it was still hard to restrain yourself from doing it." He was still smiling, still holding her tight.
"But now… now what do I do?" Elaxveri asked, lifting her head from his chest. He brushed a tear away with his thumb, looking at the caged monster behind her.
"You? Nothing. I will take care of this. Would you mind un-caging it? Might as well give it a fair fight." Zexion decided, letting her go and drawing out a tiny flask.
"N-no! He might hurt you again! No! Kill him while he's in there, and that's an order!" Elaxveri pouted, her arms crossed. He laughed at her, while she blushed deeply, embarrassed but not wavering from her decision.
"Fine. But, I'm still using this magic. There's no way he's not feeling any pain, after what he tried to do. Also, you, children! Leave. Now." He glared at them, flask raised threateningly until they all turned and ran, heading for darker hills in the distance. Before they were out of earshot, however, Elaxveri called out to the boy that tried to help her.
"Thank you!"
"Hmm? You're welcome." Zexion responded, now uncorking the vial and laying it over the cage in an intricate, almost regal, pattern. Elaxveri giggled a little at his misunderstanding, but stopped when she realized this was, well, not the proper time. The pattern on the cage bubbled and twisted, burning through the cage to the creature. It made nearly no noise as the vial burnt through its skin, blood pouring everywhere, white bone falling out and dissolving, but you could see the pain and horror on its disgusting face. The only sound the creature made was a choked gurgle as the potion attacked its throat, and its eyes rolled into the back of its head and shut, never to open again. The potion eventually destroyed all of it, disappearing with whatever remained of that horrid creature.
Elaxveri sat there, staring wide eyed at the spot that used to hold a forty foot high monster, which was destroyed in seconds by tiny drops of liquid? This is frightening. I didn't know so little could do so much.
"Are you feeling alright?" Zexion inquired, averting his gaze from the same spot.
"I'm fine. Thank you." She smiled, looking away from the area to his grey eyes. She didn't know precisely why she smiled; it just felt as though it was the right thing to do. Unlike with Zexion, a smile did look natural on her face.
