Rhiannon: So-o... this week wasn't as busy as I thought it would be... therefore I update. My birthday went smoothly on Monday as did my Wed. surgery. And since today is my sister's birthday and we have to celebrate it late... here is the next chapter!

Chapter 19—Mockery and Deceit

"Wow, they are stronger then I thought." Zexion thought with a smile as he watched them nurse their wounds as Mulan exited the Imperial Palace with the Emperor in tow. "Looks like Marluxia will have his hands full." He turned and walked into a portal of Darkness.

"I must thank you." Mulan murmured as she knelt down next to Sora.

"All of China thanks you." The elderly voice of the Emperor spoke as he looked upon them.

"There is no need to thank us." Leon murmured, looking up from where he still held a pained Sora. "We were merely doing out duty."

"Then I must commend you all and welcome you into my palace and my home, for you are surely great warriors." He moved over to Sora and bent down beside him. "I have a great magic that will do more for him then the otherworldly magics that you've used."

Leon looked up wide-eyed as the Emperor whispered a curaga spell. Only great mages or wizards could cast magic that powerful and it was usually very hard to come by as such. The only beings that he knew of with the ability were Merlin and Yen Sid. Even King Mickey did not have that sort of power. He felt the affects of the spell wash over him and discard him, laying it's self over Sora and then Kairi, Riku and Demyx healing all of the wounds that any of them had sustained.

"Yes, I am what you would call a wizard." He smiled thinly. "All of you are worth a spell that powerful." Mulan came and helped the wizened Emperor up and walked him back towards the entrance.

"Follow us." She called over her shoulder.

Leon helped Sora up and they slowly followed with the others behind them. They were lead to a large room with beds laid out.

"To rest in, since you are still weak." The Emperor murmured and Leon nodded gratefully, helping Sora onto a bed.

After all the commotion died down, Demyx leaned against the wall beside the door almost like a guard, the trinity wielders laid down and Leon sat on Sora's bed, watching the younger boy.

"I'm fine Leon, really." He murmured quietly and gave the older man's hand a squeeze.

"Some guide I turned out to be." The older brunette snorted as he looked between the three of them. "I seem to only sit by and watch you all get injured."

"You a good guide." Sora sat up and looked him square in the eye. "You couldn't have known that Xigbar would separate us. And look, we're alive."

"Barely." He released Sora's hand and stood up.

"You are doing everything that you can. The Organization isn't exactly just some mindless… something or others." Leon managed to spare a laugh at that.

"I guess your right." He looked over at Demyx. "Though, some of them do have a rather… interesting personality."

"Hey, prior to popular belief, I'm not stupid." Demyx called over and Sora laughed happily.

"No one thinks your dumb Demyx." Riku called over. "Just neurotic." He finished under his breath.

"I'm going to go take a walk." The nobody murmured and slowly exited.

"He shouldn't fight so hard to not be our friend." Sora stated around a yawn. "I think I'm going to take a nap, my stomach still hurts."

"Might as well." Kairi replied. "Riku's already out."

Which was the truth, the silver haired boy was curled in a ball of top of the small bed like a cat, fast asleep. She pulled her covers up to her chin while Leon tucked Riku in and sighed deeply, still troubled.

"You should get some rest too." Sora murmured as he looked over at him. "I'm pretty sure we're safe for right now. And no matter how Demyx wants to act like he doesn't care, he won't let anything happen to us."

"Sometimes, I think I don't realize how wise you are." The older brunette murmured as he picked a bed and laid down. "Rest well… Sora."

Demyx walked out into the palace grounds, lost in thought and worried about the changes he was finding within himself. He scrubbed a hand under his nose and looked up at the sky, hands shoved deep inside his pockets. He'd changed, that was the thing that was irking him the most. And he hadn't even changed a little, he'd changed a lot. He actually believed in what Sora and the others were fighting for. He didn't even want to gain a heart through the Organization's methods anymore. What good what a heart be with out a reason to use it?

"The Melodious Nocturne entertaining a thought?" A sly voice asked behind him and he twisted slowly to see Zexion, gray-black hair and all watching him through one mischievous eye.

"I do that now, part of my rehabilitation program." He gave a frail grin.

"Rehabilitation? Is that what they call fraternizing with the enemy now?" The shorter nobody asked as he leaned against a wall.

"Maybe." The blond gave a one armed shrug and then smiled serenely over at Zexion. "I've been gone for how long? Don't tell me the Superior suddenly took an interest in the disappearance of useless little Demyx."

"Of course not. What I want to know… is why you're siding with them."

"Siding? With those losers? You got me all wrong Zexy… They have control of my powers. Can't poof, can't fight, no more powers of darkness."

"I don't believe you." Zexion took a menacing step forward.

"Okay… so maybe… I lied." Demyx lifted his arm and called on his power over water. Water coursed from the ground into his hand until it burst and became his sitar. "Sora gave me free reign a few weeks ago."

"Liar." Zexion smiled at him. "But you of all people should know that I don't like to soil my hands."

Demyx took a step forward prepared to call on his powers when a whirl of darkness appeared behind Zexion.

"You really enjoy running don't you?" The blond narrowed his eyes.

"I hope you still remember the way to Castle Oblivion." Zexion's eyes smiled at him through his face remained impassive. "The party might start without you and Sora."

"Party?"

"You heard about Ansem's untimely demise? We need another great heartless… Leon and Riku seem particularly powerful." He smiled. "Of course… Sora would be the greatest power of all wouldn't he? See you at the castle." And with that he walked backwards through the portal.

"Get back here!" Demyx ran forward but the whirl disappeared. "Shit!" He ran back the way he came, Zexion wasn't particularly fond of the truth but he was way too smug at that moment.

He burst open the door to see Sora still lying on his side, dead asleep. He could feel the darkness sliding over his skin. Sleep spells. Zexion was a scheming little bastard. Digging in his pockets he found nothing that would actually wake Sora up. He sighed deeply and placed a hand over Sora and called his water and let it fall over the cinnamon haired boy.

"What the—" Sora sat up fast, pushing Demyx's hand away from him. "Where? Where is everyone?"

"Zexion took them." Demyx sat down on the edge of the bed.

"What? Where?"

Demyx let out a sad almost pained laugh. "You're too trusting, I was expecting to be on the business end of your keyblade."

"You've changed Demyx. You didn't betray us." Sora smiled at him almost brightly. "You're going to help me find the others… Aren't you?"

"'Course." Demyx found it in him to give a real smile. If others had noticed that he'd changed and could be happy about it, then maybe it wasn't such a bad change. "I need to take you there…"

"So we get to see your old stomping grounds?" Sora asked brightly.

"Uh… not exactly… me and Castle Oblivion aren't on the best of terms… Let's uh… take the gummi ship back to Radiant Garden and update them on what's happened?"

"Sure… Maybe Roxas or Yuffie will want to go with us?"

"Ah, sure." Demyx stated and stood up. "Oh! How are your injuries?"

"I'm fine Demyx. Let's go apologize to the Emperor so that we can leave."

Marluxia stood before the three pods before him and smiled at the brightly. "Thank you Naminè… my garden is almost complete."

"What do you plan to do with them?" She asked almost disinterestedly.

"Well, Xemnas wants me to place this inside the silver haired flower, but I think he's much too pretty for that. I might just disregard his plan all together. I kind of liked my flowers." He held up a small black orb and she gasped as she stared at it all the while shivering at his possessive tone.

"I thought that Saïx and Xigbar killed Ansem!" She stared at it wide-eyed.

"Those three idiots don't have enough power." Marluxia looked at her with a predatory smile. "I know the superior is afraid that I'm scheming a coup d'ètat."

"Aren't you?" She raised a pale eyebrow at him. "I mean, isn't that why you want to lure Sora here?"

"I have my own plans." Marluxia looked at her and then side deeply, collapsing in a chair like a great king in the midst of a horrible war. "You know what it's like Naminè… to be nothing… but do you what it's like to remember to be something? To… Xemnas made me… and killed my heartless. This is my only chance to be whole."

"This isn't the only way Marluxia." She reached out and grabbed his arm. "There are better ways! What good is a heart if you have no one to care about?"

He shook her off and stared at her forlornly before he sighed and clasped his hands together. "You don't understand my plans my dear. Neither did Larxene and Zexion doesn't either." He pushed pink hair out of his face and sighed again. "I will not be gaining a heart from this venture. I will be destroying Xemnas chance to gain a heart. I know what he plans… and I will not allow my will, my powers to be used that way."

She gave a thin smile. "Maybe there is some good left in you Marluxia."

"Good… in me?" He looked up at her. "Somehow I doubt that." He stood with the orb still rolling in his hands. "I'll decide what to do with Ansem another day."

"You do that." She turned and looked at the pods. One held a man with brunette hair, his stormy eyes closed. His sleep was punctuated with dreams of a woman who was most important to him. She smiled and reached out and touched the memory, but found she couldn't touch it. It wasn't a memory.

She wondered if something similar was happening to the other two, but Riku was just experiencing memories of Sora and Kairi memories of some blond haired boy she'd never seen before. She sighed deeply and approached the pod that contained the brunette and placed her hand on it and slipped inside.

"You've grown into such a handsome young man." A tall willowy woman with thick black hair down to her waist and pale skin murmured.

"Laguna raised me well, Raine." Leon whispered, her name sounded weird on his tongue when he realized that he was really taking to his mother.

"Good, I would have hated to have to threaten him." She smiled charmingly at him and approached him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a hug that he awkwardly returned. "I miss you all so much. You've grown up to be a good guide. The courage and will of a keyblade master and the wisdom and hope of a guide."

"I'm nothing special Raine." He released her and stepped back and she frowned.

"You're my son, you'll always be special to me."

He shrugged, letting his silence speak for him and she sighed deeply, drawing false breath into her lungs and his heart ached. He shouldn't be seeing this, Laguna should. He deserved it, he missed her so much.

"Your father seems me every time he closes his eyes to sleep. You and I on the other hand have only met a few times." She looked away. "And soon I will have to let you go."

"I miss you." He admitted so softly, she barely heard it. She stepped forward again and stood up on her toes to kiss his forehead.

"Sleep and don't worry, you will always have me… Squall." And Leon slowly fell backwards into sleep, the same careless sleep that Riku and Kairi were already incased in.

A few feet away, Naminè watched the solemn reunion and understood.

Rhiannon: So... updating should become kind of regular next week. I have another surgery on my mouth but... I should be okay. Byes!