Author' note from rarmaster: so... this chapter, you can totally thank Axel for. It wasn't necessarily his idea, but he was the one who decided this should be happening now... That, and 37 and this Larxene Replica... I swear. they are totally trying to ship themselves, and it's really weird.
Note from forevermagik13: I don't particularly have much to say. I'm too drugged because of this stupid sinus infection...
"Has anyone seen Tulip?" Amaryllis asked, glancing around.
Everyone was currently cleaning up from the previous raid. The Berserkers had done a lot of damage. A few of the couches were overturned, one table had been completely broken in two, and the chairs weren't fairing to well, either.
"No!" Lotus, a Marluxia Replica who made a particularly good medic, called. "Which is weird, considering he gets hurt almost every raid…" he trailed off, and then returned to helping a Vexen Replica with his wounds.
"Maybe he got himself killed," another Vexen Replica said. This was Number 7, who was also a very good medic, and an expert at running the Repair Program. "I mean, it's not like we could really pay attention to everyone this time around. The Berserkers really caught us by surprise."
"Let's not jump to any conclusions," Amaryllis said. "Maybe he slept through this raid. Or just sat this one out because he thought we didn't need him. Someone check his room!"
Another one of the Vexen Replicas nodded and ran off.
Amaryllis continued going around, checking to make sure everyone else was okay. They weren't missing anyone else, it seemed. No one had gotten seriously injured, there wasn't too much damage to Castle Oblivion itself.
But they were still missing Tulip.
"He's not in his room!" the Vexen Replica reported, running back.
Amaryllis frowned. "Then just where is he…?" he muttered.
xx
Roughly ten or so minutes ago
Tulip crumpled to his knees, clutching his newly acquired and profusely bleeding shoulder wound. "Shoot," he whispered, trying to get to his feet again. "I need to get out of here. I can't fight like- oof!"
He was shoved to the ground and held there.
"Look what I found!" came the sneering voice of a Larxene Replica. She bent down so she could look him in the eye, and smirked. "An injured Replica! Just what we needed."
Tulip opened his mouth to cry for help, but before he could say anything a dark corridor enveloped the both of them. He stifled his shout, knowing it would do him no good now. Now, they were in the middle of the World that Never Was.
The Larxene Replica straightened. "Oh boys!" she called, sounding all too happy. "I found someone!"
A Vexen Replica and a Lexaeus Replica made their way over. Tulip did his best to sit up, and was disgusted to find a grin on the Larxene Replica's face. She was obviously enjoying this.
Great… he thought. Not only am I terrible at fighting and have nasty luck to get hurt every time, but now I've been kidnapped by a sadistic Replica!
This just isn't my day…
"Take him away!" the Larxene Replica commanded. "I would just love to stay, but I've got more important things to be doing! Ta-ta!"
Well, at least she's gone… Tulip told himself, as the two other Replicas grabbed him by the shoulders and hoisted him to his feet. He let out a small cry of pain. His shoulder hurt.
"Let go of me!" he said, trying to struggle against them. It only caused him more pain. The Lexaeus Replica was holding his injured shoulder.
"Stop your useless struggling!" the Lexaeus Replica said. "It will only make things worse."
They started dragging him off, and Tulip did his best not to whimper, due to the pain. There was silence for a moment, before he asked:
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll find out soon enough," the Vexen Replica informed him, his voice smug.
And sure enough, he did. They dragged him into an almost completely empty room. All it contained was a chair. The Vexen Replica kicked the door open, and the Lexaeus Replica half shoved, half threw, Tulip into the chair.
"Stay put," the Vexen Replica commanded simply. "We'll deal with you later!"
And with that, they both left, the door slamming behind them.
Tulip quickly formed a dark corridor. However, he only got halfway through before he couldn't go any farther. He swore.
What in the Worlds are they going to do with me? he wondered, though the thought scared him slightly. He decided not to dwell on it long.
Instead, he just waited patiently.
There was nothing else for him to do.
Well, he could clutch his bleeding wound and hope that it would stop bleeding soon.
But that was about it.
However, he didn't have to wait long, because soon enough 37 threw the door open and walked in. He had a nasty smirk on his face. "Well then, I suppose this will do," he sighed, sounding not entirely pleased. The smirk never left his face, though, which bothered Tulip.
"We could have hoped for a better fighter… but-"
"When we're through with you, it won't matter," someone else finished. Tulip glanced around 37, slightly surprised to see that Larxene Replica again.
She let out a long exaggerated sigh. "Sorry it took so long," she told 37. "That pesky Alpha sent me to some dreadful world…"
"I shouldn't have ditched you as soon as I did," 37 replied. "Riku could have killed you-"
"He was too worried about Namine," the Larxene Replica said. "And, miraculously, I came out alive!" She laughed. "I'm glad I did, I wouldn't want to miss this!"
They turned their attention back to Tulip, who was currently gaping at them in shock. There was something about the way they had just acted… something that reminded him vaguely of-
"What are you gaping at!" the Larxene Replica snapped, breaking his thought process.
"I- uh-" Tulip began.
The Larxene Replica chucked a knife at him. It missed him, but only narrowly.
"Careful now," 37 warned. "We can't kill him."
"I wasn't going to kill him," the Larxene Replica replied. "Only harm him."
Tulip shuddered slightly, not liking the look on her face.
"What… what do you want from me?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.
The Larxene Replica broke out into a grin. "Oh," she told him. "I don't think that's entirely important." She turned to 37. He nodded, pulling something out of his pocket.
It was a laptop of sorts, though it appeared to be smaller than a usual laptop. 37 flipped the lid open, made a few keystrokes-
And Tulip collapsed.
"We should have kept him around a bit longer," the Larxene Replica mused. "He would have been fun to torture…"
37 closed the laptop and put it away. "I don't see why they brought him here, instead of to the Editing Room," he said. "It would have made things a lot easier. Especially considering Saix refuses to give me the ability to Disable Replicas with the snap of my fingers…"
"He is a bit… uptight about some things," the Larxene replied with a sigh. That was quickly replaced, however, by a much more excited mood. "Let's get this stupid Marluxia to the Editing Room!" she laughed. "I can't wait to start reprogramming him!"