^lol, I'll take that as a compliment for my story.:toungesmile:
Alright, here it is....
I'm gonna divide this into three parts since the sheer length of the story could cause some serious lagging issues on the computer I'm on. I also got the idea from Allstargamer, kudos to you Allstar!
I had a bit of trouble writing this, and I'm not that particularly proud of it, I don't know I just don't find it all that enthralling. I'll see what you all make of it and correct myself from there.
So, without further ado, here's part 1 of Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Flames of Despair
“....And why exactly are you trying to remind him of Roxas if we’re going to keep him, anyhow?”
“Well...I-I’m not so sure...I just have a flicker of hope that maybe you could help me get out of here...i-indirectly...”
Axel smirked upon hearing this, and then taunted her:
“You know, I’d love to, but I just don’t see--”
Suddenly, the door was opening again. Axel, through sheer instinct , materialized a dark portal, and before he jumped through it, he ripped the drawing of Roxas and Sora out of the sketchbook and put it in his coat pocket. He then threw the sketchbook back at Namine. As he jumped through the portal, he said to her:
“You speak to no one of this...”
Marluxia came through the door, with the sketchbook in his hand. He walked over to Namine and showed it to her.
“I just realized that deciphering this thing is much harder than I thought.” He said to her. “I’ll need to act through you.”
“What is it that you want exactly?” Namine asked him.
“Change his memories. Make them as nonsensical as possible, I want this project to fail at all costs.”
“A-Alright.”
“So we’re clear on that? Good. I'm the leader, you know."
Namine stared at him strangley before continuing to draw.
As Marluxia was walking out of the room, his eyes caught a glimpse something. Something in his peripheral vision. He turned his head, and saw the clock. His precious clock that was his only indirect outlet to the outside world. He stopped, and stared at it, thinking that something about it was strange. He walked over to it, and examined it carefully. After taking it out of the wall and looking in the back of it, he noticed that it had been tampered with.
“Someone sabotaged the clock!” He said, as he stared at it in shock. “No wonder I’ve been missing out on my beauty sleep...but who would...”
The person Marluxia was thinking of had immediately come to mind:
“Axel!”
He quickly turned back and marched angrily over to Namine, the clock in his hand. He spoke to her:
“Axel was here wasn’t he?”
“I-I...” Namine muttered.
“Answer me!”
“I don’t know...”
“Namine....” He said, sternly, as he put his hands on her chair. “Look at me and answer: Was Axel here?”
“I-I....” Namine repeated, nervously. She couldn’t take the pressure anymore, after looking into Marluxia’s forceful glare, she had to answer.
“Yes...”
“I knew it!” He said, as he dropped the clock. “That idiot! But why would he want to...”
A thought suddenly came in Marluxia’s head. He quickly turned his head back towards Namine and questioned her some more:
“Is he still here? Did he leave? Did you see him leave?”
“I-I don’t know...m-maybe...”
“Namine, this is serious! I need to know! Now answer me: Did you, or did you not see Axel leave this castle?”
“........” Namine did her best to try not to look directly into Marluxia’s eyes. Her eyes kept shifting in order to avoid his glare.
“Namine!!” Marluxia cried out.
“Yes!” She yelled. “Yes, I saw him leave! Are you happy now?”
“I knew it!”
He picked up the clock, and shut one of his eyelids as tightly as he could, making for a very strange wink.
“Thanks Namine.” He said. “I can always count on your truthfulness and honesty."
“Just let me draw in peace.” She said, somewhat annoyed.
“Actually,” He told her, holding out his hand. “Give me the sketchbook, I want it now, I have a much greater plan in mind.”
Namine found it strange that Marluxia wanted the very sketchbook he had just given her, and after he made a gesture with his head implying her to give him the book, she reluctantly did so.
“Double thanks, Namine.” He told her.
“Will you leave me alone, now?” Asked Namine.
“Of course.” Marluxia said, as he walked out the room, the clock still in his hand. "You take care, now."
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Vexen, Zexion and Lexaeus were all in the basement, discussing their latest plan, in order to escape Marluxia’s clutches. They were sitting down on the table, Vexen in the front and Zexion and Lexaeus on opposite sides.
“So, do you all understand?” Vexen asked the two.
“I suppose.” Zexion said. “So we’re just gonna end up leaving?”
“If that’s what it takes. I have all the data I need.”
“So why don’t we just end this charade?” Lexaeus asked. “It’s not like there’s anything left to do here. We have everything we need to go about our plan, anyway.”
“Well technically, we would need a little more time for the replicas.” Zexion replied.
“But that’s exactly what I’m trying to say.” Vexen said. “We don’t have the time anymore, Marluxia’s getting closer and closer to the actual truth.”
“So we’re just gonna leave?” Zexion repeated. "Just like that?"
“Not yet. You see, as soon as Saïx is finished with Axel, we'll wait for him to come back, and then we'll leave."
"We're gonna bring Axel with us?"
“He could prove to be a valuable asset to the team," Lexaeus said.” but his behaviour is too unpredictable."
“I don't want Axel to be on our team.” Vexen told the two. “No, I have a greater plan in mind for him.”
Zexion and Lexaeus looked at each other upon hearing this, wondering what Vexen could possibly be plotting in that complicated mind of his.
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Back at the top floor, where interesting events were about to unfold, Larxene was stationed in the main room, waiting for Marluxia to come back and tell her the rest of his magnificent plan, while balancing herself on a chair and looking extremely bored.
Then, lo behold, Marluxia popped in and swung the door open, still holding the clock in his hand. He had flung the door so hard that it hit the wall and made a loud banging sound, which almost made Larxene fall off her chair.
“Larxene!” He yelled out to her.
Larxene managed to stabilize herself and immediately got up from her chair. As Marluxia walked towards her she turned around to face him.
“What is it, Marluxia?” She asked.
“No one can be trusted!” He responded angrily.
“What?”
“No one! Not Vexen! Not Zexion! Not Lexaeus, and especially not Axel!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Larxene said, desperately trying to calm the Gardener down. “calm down...where’s all this coming from? I mean....surely it can’t be that everyone is untrustworthy...”
“See this clock? I have no faith in this clock!” He said, showing her the clock and smashing it down on the floor.
“What are you doing?” She said, in a distressed tone.
“Our dear friend Axel has been toying with time! He’s made it seem like there’s been a small amount of time that’s passed between the beginning of the mission and now. Who knows how much time we’ve lost!”
“How do you know it was Axel?”
“I squeezed it out of Namine. It wasn’t so hard...especially for someone of my calibre.” Marluxia said, always taking advantage of an occasion to boost his already large ego.
Larxene rolled her eyes and then got back on subject.
“Well, I guess that we may have lost a few hours of work, but it’s not like everything is lost, right? Right? Everything can still go according to plan, we’ll just forget about them, or at the most we can ‘silence’ them, you know what I’m saying?”
“I don’t think you understand Larxene...everyone is against us! Soon enough, Vexen and his band of imbeciles will all tattle to Xemnas about what I’ve been doing.”
“But what abou-”
“But I’m one step ahead of them.” Marluxia interrupted, as he took out Riku Replica’s sketchbook from his coat and showed it to her. “See this? I am going to sabotage Vexen’s experiment, thereby humiliating him in front of us all.”
“I suppose that would work, but what ab--”
“Oh-no but it doesn’t end there.” He said, interrupting her yet again. “Once I pronounce his experiment a failure, he’ll have nowhere else to go. He can’t do anything against me, because I’ll threaten him with treason if he doesn’t do what I say! Plus, he can’t go against me without the Replica.” Marluxia had said these words in a most jubilant tone.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s great, but--”
“And then...” Marluxia interrupted a third time, this time clutching Larxene’s shoulders amidst his excitement. “I’ll send him off to complete a task he would NEVER be able to pull off, without giving him any option of abandoning, and I’ll send him to a certain death, it’s a full-proof plan! Absolutely nothing can go wrong!”
*Insert Keyblade wielding 14 year-old here.*
After he had finished, he kept holding on to Larxene’s shoulders, panting from the recent excitement. As she stared at him strangely, hoping he would soon let go, she uttered:
“You like to talk, don’t you, Marluxia?”
“I know what you’re gonna say.” Marluxia said, finally letting go of Larxene’s shoulders, and starting to pace in front of her. “ ‘You’re insane, you know that, Marluxia?’. Well, I’ll have you know that this is the only way to keep Xemnas from finding out about the truth. Don’t you see, Larxene? We’ll soon have the Organisation to ourselves. Our time has come! We‘ll have to work faster, though. Sora is almost finished his ascent, I think he‘s in Hollow Bastion now...”
“What about Zexion, Lexeaus and Axel?”
“Eh...I’ll figure something out.” He said, waving his hand as if they weren’t important. For now, we’ll just have to focus on you, me and Axel.”
“What?”
“I know what you’re gonna say: ‘Axel? Why, Marluxia, weren’t you just condemning him a few minutes ago because you were jealous of his thick, lustrous hair?’. As if that’s even his natural hair colour. And I know that you’re as furious as I am about how he thrashed you before, but think about it, Axel would be the perfect double agent. If all else fails, Axel will be our way out. He’ll just have to gain our trust somehow....I’ll have to figure something out for that, though...”
“I’m sure the voices in your head will think of something soon enough.” Larxene retorted.
“Har, har.” Marluxia said sarcastically. “Seriously though, let’s get started on sabotaging this sketchbook.” He said, as he brought it up and subsequently dropped in on the table.
Marluxia pulled up the chair Larxene was sitting on and sat down, opening the sketchbook. He took a few crayons out of his pockets and started scribbling down some lines on the drawings. Larxene stared at him, befuddled as she watched him draw like a five-year-old.
“Well don’t just stand there,” Marluxia said, “get yourself a chair and start drawing.”
“This is gonna be a long day...” Larxene said to herself, putting her hand on her forehead.
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Axel and Xigbar had entered through the front door of the castle, they were now in the entrance, and it seemed, to Axel, like it was just yesterday that he was making mischief through these very halls. Before, it was almost as if the castle was his playground, now it seemed like a dark and damp castle floating above a barren city trapped in a state of never-ending night-time. Well, that's what it always was...I guess I meant to say that Axel saw it as more of a fortress, now.
Unfortunately, Axel could not simply think about the ‘good ol’ days’ and hope for everything to be right again. Times had changed, and he needed to do what had to be done if he was ever going to get out of this insane asylum alive, and by insane asylum, I mean the current situation that the Organisation was in, not the actual Castle the Never Was...
So, Axel and Xigbar were now discussing how they were going to get from the entrance of the castle, to the Proof of Existence chamber, and subsequently, Saïx’s room. For now, they were plotting how to get past the first floor.
“Alright,” Xigbar started. “The entire first floor is patrolled by Demyx, who’s put several of his water clones in charge of keeping guard.”
“Water clones?” Axel asked, confused.
“Yeah, they’re walking around everywhere on the entire first floor. He figures if he puts a lot of them in one place, intruders will have a more difficult time to get passed them.”
“That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.”
“Isn’t it though? I mean, if he would at least make them so that they would report any intrusions to him. All they do is walk around and hit anything they see moving that isn’t transparent.”
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Axel said, as he started running towards the first corridor.
“Wait a second!” Xigbar cried out, but Axel was too far away to hear anything.
Upon entering the first room, Axel noticed unsurprisingly that several water clones were roaming all over the place, floating around aimlessly. Without hesitating, he dashed toward them, and as soon as one of the clones noticed him and swung its sitar, he jumped over him. Another one took a swing as soon as he landed, he hopped to the side to avoid it. Axel continued his series of small leaps and jumps to avoid the water clones as he made his way to the entrance of the Crooked Ascension elevator. He hopped into the elevator and held the button so that it would stay. Soon enough, in the midst of all the damp clones, he saw Xigbar running towards him, evading those very clones as he did.
“Took you long enough.” Axel said to him, as Xigbar entered the elevator.
“You left too soon, I had a warning to give you, but it looks you didn’t even need one.”
“What, you thought that I would destroy the water clones?” He said, as he let go of the button and let the elevator start its ascension. “I don’t want to leave any traces of an intrusion.”
“You’re more astute than I thought.”
“I guess those water clones are slightly more useful than we expected. Where is Demyx, anyway?”
“He’s in his room, probably practicing his sitar.”
“That lazy slob.”
The elevator stopped and the two of them kept standing there, discussing the next step in their plan.
“Alright,” Xigbar repeated. “The second floor is patrolled by both Xaldin and Luxord.”
“Ah yes...” Axel said, contemplatively. “My two mortal enemies.”
“Yeah....anyway, they have a system set up. They each walk a certain path and inspect everything thoroughly as they do. The two of them manage to scour every square inch of the second floor, seperately. Then, they meet up at a rendez-vous point predestined by their organized paths and discuss what they’ve seen. Then, they restart their walks.”
“That is seriously the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Isn’t though? But listen, I’ve got a plan already thought out. Their meeting point is at the top of the second staircase located on the outside balcony that leads to the top platform of the hall of empty melodies. Once they‘re there, together, I’ll use a Graviga spell and they won’t be able to move, that’ll buy you a few minutes to get to the proof of existence chamber which I'm supposed to be patrolling. So basically, you’ll be free from there.”
“That sounds like an almost prefect plan.” Axel said, as he let go of the button of the elevator. “But once you hold down Xaldin and Luxord, won’t they immediately suspect something?”
“I guess...” Xigbar said, as he put his hand on his chin.
“And since they’re gonna be together, they’ll probably figure it out sooner that they’re being held down by a Gravity spell, and who should they suspect but you? So what does that give me, like one second before they find out you held them down?”
“Well, even when they do figure it out, they won’t be able to do anything about it.”
“How long does the spell last?”
“Well let’s see...45 seconds plus my maximum MP, and its a Graviga spell...so, that should add up to...a minute and a half. You’ll have plenty of time.”
“Maybe so, but what about when that minute and a half ends, then what do you think those two will do? Stand idly by while they wait for their culprit?”
“Axel, since when are you are you the type that thinks ahead?”
“Yeah...I guess you’re right.”
“Exactly. So, let’s just act frivolously and see what we will see.”
“Wait, we need to at least plan what I’m gonna do.”
“What’s to plan? While those two are stuck to the ground, you climb up the staircase wall and enter the balcony of the Hall of Empty Melodies through there. And from there, you make you‘re way to the Proof of Existance Chamber and then Saïx’s room.”
“Well, I guess I could do that...”
“Good, now can we please go?”
Axel let go of the elevator button and then he and Xigbar both went out the door, into the the next hallway………where they saw Luxord walking directly in front of them. His back facing them. Surprised upon seeing this, they managed to stay calm, and immediately stopped walking, covered their mouths and ducked in the middle of the path. Luxord kept walking, without noticing anything, eventually walking up the first set of stairs and meeting Xaldin on the platform. The two discussed their sightings as Axel and Xigbar crept beneath the banister.
“Wait here.” Xigbar whispered to Axel, as he slowly crept away. “When you here the ‘woosh’ of my Graviga spell, that’ll be your cue to sneak around them.
“Right” Axel said, as he nodded.
------------------------------
“What do you have to report, my dear Luxord?” Xaldin said proudly, with a smile on his face.
“Is all of this really that necessary?” Luxord said, as he groaned. “The time we have to patrol the area is not even enough to catch someone sneaking out of bed early.”
“It’s the principal of the thing, my good Luxord. Axel has already made a fool of me twice before, I will assure that it shan’t happen again.”
“So Axel is to blame for all of this, is he? Well, this shift had better be over soon, it’s starting to take time away from my tea drinking...how I adore drinking tea....” He said, making a grimace as he did.
Xaldin rolled his eyes as he said this, and Luxord noticed.
“I saw that!” He yelled, pointing to him.
“I’ll have you know that its very rude to point at people.” Xaldin said, ignoring Luxord’s statement, and pushing his finger away.
Suddenly, the two felt a ‘woosh’ overcome them as they were bickering. A strange force was pushing down on them, and they had a difficult time standing up straight.
“Wh-What is this?” Xaldin asked. “What’s happening?”
“I believe were being pushed down by an unforeseen gravitational force.” Luxord replied.
The duo found themselves unable to move at all. All they could do was think and speak. And after a short while of thinking, Xaldin had spoken:
“Xigbar!” He cried out.
“How can you be sure?” Asked Luxord.
“Who else could it be? I should have known he wouldn’t obey me, and now look where we all are.”
“It shouldn’t last too long. It’s only a Gravira spell.”
“Are you kidding? This is a Graviga spell if I ever felt one! Now let’s see, Xigbar’s maximum MP is 30...coupled with a 45 second advancement and another 15 seconds...it should all add up to a minute and a half! Curses!”
“Well, we can talk during this time can’t we?”
“No time for talking! Now Luxord, how far can you turn your head?”
“Not very far.” He replied, as he forced his neck to turn slowly.
“Drat! Every part of my body has been immobilized. When I get my hands on Xigbar....”
“I’m sure we’ll find him.”
“Will you quiet down with your incessant optimism?”
“I’m sorry, but you know how I get when I don’t have my tea.”
While the two were talking pointlessly, Axel took the time to climb up the wall of the side of the stairs. Quietly, he ran up towards it, and walked upwards until he reached the ledge, which he hung onto before pulling himself up. Once on the other side, he quickly dashed to the entrance of the balcony of the Hall and into the proof of existence chamber, where he was greeted by Demyx.
“Demyx!” He exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“I was in my room practicing my solos when I decided to check up on my water clones downstairs.” He replied, he then asked suspiciously: “What are you doing here?”
“I came from upstairs and snuck past your water clones.”
“You did? Didn’t they try to stop you?”
“They’re water clones, not full-trained war soldiers.”
“But it was a full-proof plan, and nothing could’ve gone wrong.” Demyx said, in a tone that was reminiscent of that of a child’s. “Oh...I hate shoddy workmanship.”
“Oh, quit your whining. If you were anything but lazy you would’ve actually patrolled the area yourself, or at least installed some sort of program in your clones...”
“How do you want me to install a program in water?”
“Whatever, that’s not the point. I suppose that now that you’ve seen me you’re prepared to tell everyone?”
“No, not really?”
“Oh?”
“You’re one of the few members I admire, Axel. Whatever you’re up to, I’m sure it’s for a good reason.”
“Oh, well....thank you, I guess...”
“Well, I’m off. Toodle-oo.
“Um, bye.” Axel replied awkwardly.
As Demyx was leaving, Axel entered Saïx’s door and muttered to himself:
“Toodle-oo?”
-------------------------
“Finally, we’re free!” Xaldin exclaimed, as he turned around constantly, surveying the area, and moving his muslces about as if he hadn’t had the chance for several minutes, which he hadn’t.
“Well, I suppose there’s--” Luxord started, before being interrupted.
“No time to waste! We must find Xigbar at all costs! If he’s not here than he’s certainly-”
Xaldin could not finish his sentence, for he felt a sharp sting on his head. It rattled his brain and his vision was blurred for a split second. He quickly turned around, his hand rubbing his head, and saw Xigbar at the top of the stairs, clutching one of his guns.
“Ok!” Xigbar yelled out. “You got me! It was me who did it!”
“Well, it looks like you were right, Xaldin.” Luxord said to him. “I apologize for--”
“Shut up!” Xaldin said to him, before turning his head back to Xigbar, and crying out:
“Xigbar! How dare you do this to us! Who put you up to it? Was it Demyx? It was Demyx, wasn't it?"
"Do I need a reason to hassle my favourite member, Xaldy? I just enjoy grinding your gears."
"Aaarrggnn!" Xaldin said out of frustration. "Xigbar! " He said, pointing to him. "I hereby accuse you of treachery against myself and Luxord, and subsequently of the Organisation itself.”
“Sure, whatever.”
Xaldin immediately ran up the stairs and materialized a spear in his hand. As soon as he was close enough, he swiped The Freeshoter. Xigbar ducked, and shot him a few times in the stomach. Xaldin clutched it, and took another swipe as he did. Xigbar was hit and fell to the ground. Xaldin then twirled his lance and pointed it downwards, towards Xigbar, and thrust it into his stomach. Xigbar rolled out of the way, and tripped Xaldin by kicking him in the legs. He propelled himself back up on his feet as Xaldin was falling. However, Xaldin managed to fall on his hand, and he pushed himself upward and executed a flip over Xigbar. The two were now standing back to back, Xigbar being closer to the stairs.
“Stand clear, Xaldin!” Xaldin heard a familiar voice from behind say to him.
Xigbar turned his head and saw Luxord at the same place he was before, at the bottom of the stairs. However, he had jumped and was now on the same level as the other two. His hand was concealed behind him and he then immediately stretched it out, emitting a thick, stringy, purple energy beam that was directed towards Xigbar. He hopped out of the way, leaving the beam to hit Xaldin, who also hopped out of the way. It was unfortunate that Demyx had decided to enter the area at that precise moment, for he was now the beam’s target, and the surprise caught him off guard.
Demyx was turned into a card.
“What the...” He said to himself, turning around in only two dimensions.
“Xigbar and Xaldin stared in awe at the confused Demyx, as Luxord pushed them away to see what he had hit.
“Oh, bugger.” He said, before retreating behind them again.
“LUXOOOOOOOOOORD!” Demyx cried it, still in his two-dimensional form.
As Xigbar was still staring at the entire scene with a grin, Xaldin had used the element of surprise and kicked him in the stomach. The Freeshooter started tumbling down the stairs, but immediately regained his balance and made it safely down. He looked up at Xaldin and smirked.
Xaldin dashed towards him down the stairs while an aura of wind covered him. Xigbar evaded by jumping high, very high in the air. As Xaldin came to a screeching halt, Xigbar, from above, materialized his two guns and started shooting and shooting at him. Several pink bullets rained down from above, homing in on Xaldin. This one, in return, materialized two of his spears in his hands and immediately started to whack the pink projectiles out of his way. Swinging both his spears wildly, the pink, crystal bullets strayed off into the distance.
Meanwhile, as Luxord was staring at entire the situation, he decided that he should go and help his comrade.
“Worry not, Xaldin!” He yelled out to him, as he took a few steps towards the stairs. “I’m coming to help!”
“Oh, no you’re not!” Demyx yelled from behind him.
“Wha...?”
As Luxord turned around, he noticed not only that Demyx had regained his original form, but that he was also preparing to swing at him with his sitar. Caught by surprise, Luxord was smacked by the giant instrument and fell on the side of the railing. He applied his hands on it to regain his senses. However, Demyx was relentless in his attacks, and if Luxord hadn’t dodged in time, he would’ve been hit on the head with a sitar, instead of letting the railing take the damage.
The two were now face to face, Demyx was brandishing his sitar with his two hands on the handle, prepared to swing it at Luxord like a baseball bat. And swing it like a baseball bat, he did. Luxord ducked to avoid it. Demyx swung it vertically, hoping to hit him on the head, but Luxord hopped out of the way. As soon as the sitar had hit the ground, Demyx used it as leverage and lifted his feet in the air, kicking Luxord in the face. Luxord backed away a bit, towards the wall and as soon as he lifted his head, he saw Demyx striking him again. He dodged it, and the sitar hit the wall. Demyx swung and swayed his sitar in the hopes of knocking out Luxord. However, the Englishman was nimble in his movements, and managed to dodge his attacks fluidly. If Demyx would swing horizontally at the face, Luxord would pull his head back, missing the sitar by inches from his nose. If Demyx swung at his feet, Luxord would hop to avoid it.
“Calm yourself Demyx,” Luxord said, as he dodged, in a futile attempt to dissuade him. “you bloody Yank!”
Demyx wouldn’t listen, and Luxord was annoyed. After another missed attempt of bonking him on the head, Luxord jumped up on his grounded sitar, ran up to Demyx while balancing himself perfectly on said sitar, and kicked him in the face. He landed in front of him, his back to the Melodious Nocturne’s face.
Demyx paid no heed to the Englishman’s physical warning, and whacked him horizontally. Luxord ducked as if it was nothing to him, and as he got up, he pivoted on one foot and punched Demyx in the face.
Demyx let go of his sitar and held his face with his hands. The battle was paused.
“You punched me in the face!” He told Luxord, his voice muffled by his hands.
“Sorry, old chap, but you left me no choice. I do hope there’s no hard feelings between us.”
Luxord then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Xaldin.
“Our battle is with Xigbar, not Demyx.” He said. "Come at once, I cannot do this alone."
“Where is Xigbar?” Luxord asked.
“I flung him towards the other end of the castle. It shouldn't be long until he comes back, though.”
Luxord turned his head for a split second to see what Demyx was up to, and when he did, he immediately ducked, and poor Xaldin was hit with the giant sitar, and tumbled down the stairs once again.
Lying down, he noticed black feet in front of him, he looked up and saw Xigbar with a grin on his face. He scowled.
Luxord got into his defence position and started circling parallel to Demyx, who was still brandishing his sitar like a club. Then, he struck. He ran towards Luxord, lifting his sitar, and then swung it down. What was heard however, was not the sound of a sitar whacking somebody’s head. Actually, nothing was heard.
Luxord had caught the sitar between his two hands. As he Struggled to hold it up, doing so fairly well I might add, Demyx was doing his best to unsuccessfully push the sitar down.
“Demyx...” Luxord uttered gruffly, still managing to hold the sitar from pushing down on him in the process. “It was an accident. I’m sorry. Now, deal with it!”
“You punched me in the face,” Demyx replied. “That was intentional.”
Luxord struggled to find his words.
“Yes...” He said, after a pause. “But it was an act of defence only. Now, I suggest we stop this before anyone else gets hurt. I’m sure Xaldin will gladly forgive you if you just explain to him--”
Luxord could not finish his sentence, for Demyx had quickly lifted his sitar back, away from Luxord’s grip, and whacked him with his it. Luxord received the attack at full force and he applied his hands onto the railing to regain his senses, as he did before, and once he got back up he took a good look at Demyx, who was still waiting to whale on him.
“This is going to be a long day.” The Englishman said to himself.
------------------
Xigbar and Xaldin were at the other end of the hallway, parrying and blocking each other’s moves. Xaldin was able to manipulate five of his six spears simultaneously with the help of the wind, which made it somewhat difficult for Xigbar to block with two handguns...but he managed.
Xaldin swiped at him with a spear, and Xigbar hopped out of the way. He swiped at him from another side. He hopped out of the way again. Soon, Xigbar was performing several acrobatic manoeuvres to dodge the spears, and he hardly ever touched the ground because of it.
Xaldin suddenly de-materialized all of his spears and charged up his power. In an instant, he lifted his arm up toward himself and caught Xigbar in a circle of winds. He then violently moved his arm and Xigbar was thrown out of the balcony and into the pit below. Fortunately, the Freeshooter was far from finished. Quickly he pointed at Xaldin with one of his guns while he was hurling through the air, and a large, dark globe surrounded Xaldin, and by shifting the gravitational pull around him, Xaldin was subsequently lifted high into the air.
As he was flying upwards, Xigbar shot some bullets at him as he too was still floating in the air. Xaldin immediately materialized two of his spears and began twirling them to deflect every bullet as he continued flying upwards. He then stopped, in mid-flight. Charged up his power, and sprinted towards Xigbar with the force of the wind, ignoring the effect of The Freeshooter's now defunct spell. Xigbar, thanks to his gravity powers, managed to sustain himself in mid-air, and managed to noticed Xaldin charging at him, with his two spears in his hand. He immediately crossed his arms and blocked just as Xaldin was approaching him, preparing to strike him with both spears.
A bright flash of light shone, and Xigbar had successfully blocked Xaldin’s charged attack. Their weapons were still connected, both in the form of an X, and Xaldin kept forcing onto Xigbar’s guns as he uttered:
“Turn yourself in Xigbar, it would be easier to do so now than to keep on fighting.”
“I couldn’t do that Xaldin, baby.” Xigbar said, with a smirk on his face. “After all, fighting is so much more fun.”
Saying that, Xigbar pushed as hard as he could and managed to lift Xaldin’s spears out of the way, which left him open for attack. Xigbar than started shooting at him, he twirled his guns around himself, under his arms, behind his back. He did so while he continued to shoot continuously.
Xaldin felt the first few stings of Xigbar’s bullets, but he soon regained his senses and deflected the others with ease by twirling a spear in one hand. Right after he deflected the last bullet, Xigbar stretched his arm upwards, toward Xaldin. The Whirlwind Lancer felt a gravitational force, but it wasn’t bearing down on him at all, was lifting him up in the air.
Before he knew it, Xaldin was hurled even higher into the air. Xigbar then teleported above Xaldin, at a point that The Whirlwind Lancer had not yet attained during his launch. As soon as Xaldin got in close enough proximity, Xigbar gave him a swift kick downwards, and subsequently, Xaldin was sent plummeting to the ground below.
However, while he was in the middle of his plummet, Xaldin materialized a spear, and threw it, with accurate precision, at Xigbar. <In the amount of time that it took for the spear to travel from Xaldin’s hand, to Xigbar, it transformed into a trail of wind. The entire spear shed its metallic skin that freed several strands of clear, visible wind.>
As Xigbar was looking down, he was bewildered at what was happening. Before he could figure out what was going on, unfortunately, the strands of wind reached him and passed directly through his body.
As you may have guessed, this was no ordinary gust of wind. As the air stream was passing through the Freeshooter‘s body, he felt a sharp pain in his gut. The kind of pain that a spear inflicts at a certain velocity. He clutched his stomach as he groaned.
Xaldin eventually managed to stop himself in mid-air after he threw his javelin. He then materialized another, and threw it upwards in the same fashion as the former. The spear once again turned into wind strands and struck Xigbar in the stomach.
Xaldin repeated this formula with the other four spears he had left. Each one of them dissolving into the wind and striking Xigbar with brute force. After the last one, Xaldin stretched his arms out and materialized all of his six spears around himself. He then lifted both his arms upward, and the spears were bending in such a way, that they were all pointing towards each other, leaving a small circle in the middle, right above Xaldin’s head. The spears began to turn slowly around Xaldin, then they began to pick up speed, faster and faster. Eventually, a bright ball of energy was produced in the centre of the spinning spears.
Xigbar was observing all of this from above, clutching his stomach in one hand, and a gun in the other. He then pointed his gun directly at Xaldin's head, and shot three bullets. They were all deflected away as soon as they reached the swirling ball of energy.
Xaldin then gave it all he had. His arms still pointing upward, he bent his elbows, retreating his arms, and then pushed on the ball of energy with all his might. A very large whirlwind spewed forth, with a radius of of about ten feet, strands of wind swirling everywhere, and was headed straight for Xigbar.
Before it could hit him, Xigbar teleported directly behind Xaldin, and planned to strike him in the back of the head with his gun. Xaldin, without any warning, broke out of his upward arm pose, turned around and punched Xigbar in the face. His spears that were turning at high speeds seconds earlier, were know floating in the air, immobile.
Xadin then grabbed a floating spear, and struck him three times with a sideways slash. <<As he swiped Xigbar that third time, he continued the swing and turned around at a 360 degree angle, grabbing another spear in the process, and once he turned back in front of Xigbar, he whacked him downwards.>>
As Xigbar was careening down to the ground, Xaldin dashed down toward him, clutching his spears in his two hands. As he caught up with the plummeting Xigbar, he twirled around himself at a 360 degree angle and whacked him horizontally with a lance.
However, this time, Xigbar had blocked with a gun, and as he did, the two immediately stopped falling and stayed in the same position, in the air, for a while.
Suddenly, Xaldin took off his lance from Xigbar and hit him with the other one, hoping it would break his guard. Unfortunately for him, Xigbar still blocked perfectly. Xaldin tried it again, switching spears. Still nothing. Xaldin was now hitting Xigbar continuously, as the Freeshooter stayed still in his blocking position. Several sparks flew out of the two clashing weapons as Xaldin continued striking, to no avail, unfortunately.
Just then, between strikes, Xigbar shot one bullet from each of his guns. His arms were in a crossed position, so the bullets were shot at opposite sides, but they followed a set path and made a detour around Xaldin and hit him in the back of the head. Xaldin left himself open as he felt the sting, and Xigbar took advantage of the opportunity and kicked him directly in the face. After a few seconds of daziness, Xaldin soon regained his senses, as his two spears continued floating next to him.
Xigbar didn’t attack. Instead, he waited for the opportunity to parry. Seeing this, Xaldin figured it to be the perfect opportunity to strike him again. He then quickly swiped his right arm forward, horizontally, as if he were striking Xigbar with a lance, yet his hand was empty.
As he did so, the lance that was on the right to him swiped Xigbar in the same motion that Xaldin had done with his arm. Xigbar blocked it, though. Xaldin swiped his left arm upwards and his spear did the same. Xigbar felt this one, and he did a couple of flips in mid-air as he got hit. Finally, Xaldin lifted his right arm back, and his spear, parallel to his arm, retreated also. Then, he thrust his arm forward and the spear was thrust forward as well. Xigbar soon regained his senses from the previous hit, and out of frustration, he whacked the spear out of the way with one hand, and with the other, he pointed towards Xaldin's other lance and cast a Gravity spell on it. The lance was hurled all the way down to the balcony where Luxord and Demyx were.
Xaldin didn’t pay much attention to where the spear had gone. Instead, he focused his attention on Xigbar, and started whacking him left and right with his one spear, as Xigbar blocked and retaliated by shooting several stray bullets, to which Xaldin could not predict where they would come from, thus, making him take damage. He materialized another spear to replace the former and engaged in a series of hits and deflections as Xigbar engaged in a series of blocks and shootings.
----------------
Demyx and Luxord were still at it. For the entire time that Xaldin and Xigbar were fighting in the air, Demyx was still trying to wallop Luxord with his sitar. However, Luxor was managing quite well without a weapon, and as Demyx was preparing for another vertical lunge, Luxord didn’t feel so much tired as he did annoyed.
Then, out of nowhere, Luxord heard a ting from behind him. Figuring what it could be, he quickly performed a back flip just as Demyx’s sitar smashed the ground he was on with brute force. He back flipped over the lance and landed in a neat pose, with one hand on the ground, one leg stretching out, and the other leg folded in. In front of him, he saw the lance, and further in front, Demyx with his sitar clutched.
Luxord immediately performed a summersault, while grabbing the lance, and once he finished said sommersault he lifted up his lance in a defensive position, and at that precise moment, Demyx had belted him vertically with his sitar.
Luxord and Demyx were now immobilized in that same position for a while, as Demyx was pushing, and Luxord was pushing back. Unfortunately for Demyx, Luxord had the upper hand, and he managed to get back up on his feet as Demyx kept forcing onto him as best he could. Then, Luxord gave a nice, hard push on the sitar, and the force of the push was enough to make Demyx take few step backwards, leaving himself open. Luxord took the opportunity and placed a dark purple aura around the spear. The aura swirled around the spear continuously, until it disappeared in a bright flash of light after a few seconds.
As soon as he was finished, he saw Demyx run toward him, dragging his sitar on the ground. Luxord did the same, dragging Xaldin’s spear as well. Once the two reached each other, they both swung their weapons as hard as they could, and hit each other. Sparks flew as the two weapons clashed, and, eviddently, the two stayed in that position for a while.
“Demyx...” Luxord said, with a grimace. “Do you even remember why you were angry at me?”
Demyx then turned around on himself and whacked Luxord a few times with his sitar. All of the attacks were blocked, and again, they stood still in a blocking position.
“I’ll be honest with you Luxord,” Demyx started. “I never liked you. I was just trying to find an opportunity to thrash you.”
“And it seems to be working out quite well.” Luxord responded sarcastically.
Demyx, furious, started swinging his sitar in every direction in hopes of hitting Luxord one way or another. He was hardly looking at what he was doing. Luxord, on the other hand, was somewhat concentrate, and fared quite well agaisnt the Melodious Nocturne.
Demyx then prepared for a belting, and Luxord, holding the spear in both of his hands, prepared to block it. And block it, he did. He then he pivoted on himself, and as he turned around he twirled his spear around himself and managed to block Demyx’s second attack. Demyx, then tried swiping him horizontally, to which Luxord jumped directly over him to avoid. However, as he was doing so, Demyx lifted his sitar over himself in order to strike him. Luxord simply blocked while still in the air.
As he landed, he twirled the spear once more and blocked another of Demyx’s attacks. To the right, to the left, up and down. Luxord blocked them all, and he hardly took a step back as he did.
Once again, the two were eventually locked in a weapons clash. Luxord then took the opportunity to speak:
“Just out of curiosity, what is it exactly that I did for you to be so miffed at me?”
“As if you don’t remember....” Demyx replied, striking him yet again, as Luxord blocked it. “You cheated me out of 500 munny, remember?”
Luxord appeared intrigue for a while as he tried his best to remember. Then, like a bolt of lightning, it came to him.
“Ah yes...the infamous poker game.” He said.
Demyx continued hitting for a while, until Luxord was so fed up of blocking that he jumped over him. Once on the other side, the two were back to back, and Luxord spoke again:
“It really was quite silly of you to bet that much money and hope to win. Quite careless, actually.”
Demyx turned around and quickly ran toward him. He tried clouting him horizontally with his sitar, but Luxord ducked. Then, Demyx did what he had done before. He used his sitar as leverage and lifted his feet into the air, attempting to kick him. Luxord, this time, dodged the attack by hopping away. Then, he but his spear on the ground, upright, and he used it as leverage as well. Holding onto it, he lifted his feet into the air and managed to kick Demyx in the face. As Luxord landed back acrobatically on his two feet, Demyx dropped his sitar and leaned on the railing.
But not for long, as Luxord dashed toward him with the spear, Demyx re-materialized his sitar and began defending. He did his best to block Luxord’s attacks, but the Englishman’s swashbuckling abilities proved to be better than average, and Demyx had trouble keeping up with his attacks...
...to the point where Demyx ended up in a peculiar situation. He was now struggling to hold up his sitar with both hands in order to push back Luxord’s spear that he was holding with only one hand. The Gambler of Fate pushed down with ease, as The Melodious Nocturne was trying to push as best he could.
“Careless, my foot!” Demyx said, struggling to push back. “You cheated and you know it! How is it even possible that anyone could have five Aces in one hand?”
“That isn’t really so much cheating as it is a manipulation of your credulous nature, since conventional poker rules clearly state that there are not to be more than four Aces. That’s not to say that what I did was wrong, though. I do apologise.”
“Stop being so....nice!”
Upon saying that, Demyx hopped backwards, and performed a jumping attack on Luxord. As his sitar clouted the ground, Luxord jumped over him, and the two were, once again, back to back.
“If you’re referring to my sheer politeness,” Luxord stated. “than all I can say is that I haven’t had my tea yet.”
---------------------------
Sparks flew in the air as Xigbar and Xaldin battered each other with their weapons. It was a very close fight, and whenever it seemed like one had the upper hand, the other would always strike back with full force. Xaldin would whack Xigbar with his floating spears, as Xigbar teleported everywhere and shot at him from random locations.
As he was fighting, Xaldin realized that he was only fighting with five lances. He turned his head slightly every now and then, to see if it had landed on the balcony, but all he could see was Luxord and Demyx fighting.
Eventually, he just decided to materialize the missing spear. As he did though, a card materialized in his hand instead. One of Luxord’s cards. As he stared at the card, flabbergasted, he felt several sharp stings on his back. He felt them sting more and more, piling onto his back and the back of his head. Although he couldn’t see, he could tell that it was Xigbar shooting non-stop. The Freeshooter teleported in front of him and continued shooting. Xaldin gave him a vertical swipe but he had teleported above him, so Xaldin twirled his lance above his head and deflected as many bullets as he could. Xigbar teleported in back of him and continued shooting. Some way or another, the bullets always made their way towards Xaldin. With Xigbar behind him yet again, shooting non-stop, Xaldin became fed up and forced himself, amidst the shower of bullets, to turn around and thrust Xigbar in the stomach.
The Freeshooter immediately stopped shooting, and the two kept their stance, with Xaldin’s lance thrust into Xigbar’s gut. Xaldin then took his spear out of said gut and de-materialized it, along with all the other spears around him. He then pulled his arms back, as several strands of wind swirled around him, and pushed into the air as hard as he could. With a loud "WOOOSH!!!", the force of the wind hurled Xigbar away. Very far away.
Clutching the card in his hand, Xaldin sneered and turned himself back toward the balcony, his braided, black hair swirling around in his face, and took off. He still had an aura of wind around him, and left a very thin trail of airstreams as he made his way to the balcony.
------------------
Luxord successfully blocked each and every one of Demyx’s sitar smashes with Xaldin’s lance. Demyx was furious at this point and was throwing his sitar in pretty much any direction.
“I say, Demyx.” Luxord said to him, as he blocked a frontal and side attack effortlessly. “You really have a problem with holding grudges against people. I mean, it’s been almost 15 minutes that you’ve been trying to knock me out. Couldn’t we just have a friendly chat about it? I imagine you must be tired by now.”
“Oh, I’m tired alright....” Demyx said, gasping and panting. “Tired of you! YARGH!”
Demyx lifted his sitar over his head and smashed back down for the umpteenth time. Luxord, naturally, back flipped to avoid it.
The two were now face to face, when suddenly, they felt a light breeze. The lightest of breezes, actually. The breeze then turned into a small gust of wind, which made their hair swivel in different directions. They both stood up, getting out of their fighting positions, and turned their heads. Thet saw Xaldin, in mid-flight, headed towards the balcony were they were. Upon reaching the railing, he stopped, causing several strands of wind to blow into Luxord and Demyx, and landed on the railing. The two didn’t even move, as if they had completely forgotten about their battle.
“You...!” Xaldin said, pointing to the windswe8pt Demyx. “Are supposed to be patrolling the first floor. If you might have been doing your job, none of us would be in this position in the first place...and you!.....hold on one second.”
Xaldin materialized a floating spear next to his arm, he immediately turned around and performed a horizontal whacking motion with his arm, his spear did the same and hit Xigbar, who had been trying to attack him from behind. Xigbar was once again sent hurling through the air. During this time, Demyx whispered something into Luxord’s ear:
“I guess he forgot about me whaling on him.”
“And you!” Xaldin continued, pointing to Luxord. “What is the meaning of this?” He said, showing the card that had materialized in his hand moments earlier.
“Ah yes,” Luxord started. “Terribly sorry for that, old chap. You see, I needed a decent weapon to defend myself against Demyx‘s insane fit of howling rage, and when your spear fell from the sky, I took it and cast a spell on it to prevent you from materializing it. So when you tried to do so, a card appeared, and the number which is written on the card corresponds to the number of minutes my spell is in effect.”
“This says 7.”
“Well, I think you could do the math.” Luxord said, as he chuckled. He stopped doing so at once after seeing that Xaldin would not stop scowling at him.
After a few moments of silence, Xaldin’s spear and Luxord’s card were de-materlialized from their opposite hands, and re-materialized in their respective hands.
“Well, that settles that.” Luxord said, as he began to walk away.
“Hey! Get back here!” Demyx yelled from behind.
Luxord sighed as he turned his back and saw Demyx running towards him.
“Can’t we just end this, Demyx?” He said to him.
Demyx completely ignored Luxord’s request and lifted his sitar over his head, as he had done so many times before, and smashed it on the ground. Luxord hopped to the side to avoid it. Demyx repeated the attack, but Luxord hopped to the other side to avoid it.
Finally, Demyx shut his eyes tightly, turned on himself at a 360 degree angle while swinging his sitar, intending to turn back and clout Luxord horizontally. However, as he had finished his turn, his sitar was stopped in mid-attack by a strange, seemingly invisible force. Demyx opened his eyes and saw Xemnas holding his sitar with one hand, glaring at him with positively no emotion.
“Oh, poopie...” Was the only thing Demyx could utter.
Luxord popped his head from behind Xemnas and said before leaving:
“Problem solved. Xaldin, I’ll meet you at the bottom of the staircase.” He said these wrods fairly fast, as he did not want to stand in Xemnas' threatening presence any longer than he had to.
With Xemnas in front of him, and Xaldin still on the balcony in back of him, Demyx wasn’t sure there was much he could do. After a moment of silence, Xemnas de-materialized Demyx’s own sitar and put his slowly arm back down. Demyx, nervous, took a few steps backwards, as he was intimidated by the robust, silver-haired leader.
“Well...” Demyx started. “You see........Ahem......the thing is....” Demyx struggled to find the right words, but couldn’t manage to form a straight sentence. “I never wanted to......um, well......o-one thing I should......I-I wasn’t really.........oh boy, I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
Xemnas didn’t say a word, he just continued glaring at Demyx, which left The Melodious Nocturne very uncomfortable, and very terrified. Out of all the times he had been in Xemnas' presence throughout his stay at the organisation, he was never as scared as he was now. Would Xemnas understand that he was only trying to clout Luxord, and not his beloved leader? Would he have the common sense to know that his intentions were purely against that blasted Englishman? Or would punish him on the grounds of fighting in the castle? Either way, Demyx was scared of the punishment Xemnas would think up.
Fortunately, Demyx just then, remembered what to expect from Xemnas whenever punishment was in order. Unfortunately, he knew that it wasn't something that was good.
Hee immediately turned his head and saw a dark portal, with tendrils crawling on the floor, and a purplish substance emanating from the swirls of darkness, waiting to be entered.
“Oh right....that thing.” He said.
He quickly turned his head back to Xemnas and tried to negotiate his way out as best he could.
“Do I really have to go? I’ve learned my lesson: no more fighting with other members within the castle perimeters...blah, blah, blah, we all know the--”
Before he could even finish, Xemnas shoved him into the portal with one hand, and the dark doorway closed itself, as the Melodious Nocturne's screams could be heard fading away into oblivion.
Now, there was only Xaldin left to be dealt with. Fortunately for himself, though, this was the first time he was in Xemnas' presence and not in any trouble.
“I apologize for not keeping the situation under control.” Xaldin said to him. “Although I can honestly tell you that Xigbar was behind this entire ordeal.”
Xemnas lifted his hand in order to silence Xaldin. The Whirlwind Lancer obeyed his master's order and let him speak, in his deep, slow, baritone voice:
“I suggest you keep an attentive eye on the situation. Predicaments such as these, are usually not the product of a sole individual, but of several more. Further investigation should not be seen as only an option.”
“But, where should I start?” Xaldin asked, somewhat bewildered.
"Whirlwind Lancer, are inquiring as to what you should do?" Xemnas said, as he started to turn around and walk away. “You can’t expect to obtain answers directly. "If you do want counsel, I recommend you watch your back."
Xaldin was still standing on the railing, watching Number one slink off into the darkness of the corridor, pondering what his leader could have meant.
He lifted his head slightly, and took a peek at the silver, heart-shaped moon, and pondered as long as he could. The stars that night were plentiful, and he almost got lost in a daze just looking at them, set in the backdrop of the blue sky.
Just then, he realized something. He came to a certain conclusion, an epiphany of sorts. He finally noticed something about this whole situation that reeked of it since before. However soon he grasped this idea though, it was almost too late. He felt a presence nearby. Bearing in mind what Xemnas just told him, he immediately turned his head and saw Xigbar coming out of nowhere from behind, shooting dozens upon dozens of his bullets.
Xaldin hopped away from him, but stayed well-balanced on the railing. As Xigbar stood floating in the air, Xaldin deflected the endless projection of bullets from The Freeshooter with two of his spears in each hand, and as he did, he hopped even further away.
Eventually Xigbar stopped shooting. With a grin on his face, he fixed his eyes on Xaldin with a piercing, determined stare, and Xaldin returned it.
Without saying a word, The Freeshooter landed smoothly on the railing. The two continued staring at each other, without uttering a single word from their mouths. Looking into each other’s eyes, one smirking and one scowling, they clutched their weapons tightly, and prepared themselves for the most devastating of attacks. Ultimately, the stillness of it all could have not gone on forever, and soon enough, Xigbar broke the silence:
“I gotta say, Xaldin, you put up a good fight. I’m not even scratched in any way, shape or form, but you do put up a good fight.”
“Axel...” Xaldin muttered.
“What was that?” Xigbar said, trying to keep his cool, as he was slightly nervous upon hearing that redhead's name being muttered by one of his archnemesis'.
“Axel. This has to do with Axel, I’m sure of it. Where is he?”
Xigbar knew he couldn’t continue bluffing. He saw the sternness in Xaldin’s eyes and knew right then and there that he was determined to find and destroy Axel at all costs, and he was actually afraid that he might suceed. So, he figured he would have to stall as long as he could to give Axel as much time as he could possibly need.
“What makes you think he’s here?” He asked, casually.
“Ah-ha!” Xaldin exclaimed. “So, you do admit to aiding him! You are going to be punished severely for this!”
"I did?"
"Yes! You did! Didn't you notice?"
"What did I say?'
"You just said it! You said that--"
"'What makes you think he's here?'" Xaldin asked, appearing sceptical of Xaldin's argumentation.
"Yes! And by asking me that, you have confirmed to me that you are in cahoots with Axel!"
"How?"
"You're sticking up for him! You wouldn't stick up for him if you weren't in cahoots with him!"
Xigbar gave Xaldin a weird look. Partly because he wanted to discourage him of any suspicion, and partly because his reasonning didn't really make much sense anyway.
“You know, you have got to lighten up, Xaldy-baby." Said The Freeshooter to the tense Whirlwind Lancer. "You’ve been so tense ever since Axel left here. You gotta learn to let a few things go, man. You know, take a vacation, get a haircut, maybe find yourself a girlfriend...”
“You don’t realize how much you’re in for it, do you? A misdeed like this could almost result in expulsion.”
“Xaldin, I am number II. I’ve been with Xemnas even longer than you have, don’t you think I’ve done things like this before without getting punished?”
“Rank doesn't mean anything, you elitist! (Sighs) All right, let me tell you something: Xemnas knows what just happened, and I’m sure he knows you’re behind this as well. The only reason he hasn’t done anything as of yet is because he must have a greater plan in mind, and let me assure you, I know Xemnas well enough to know that!”
And unfortunately, so did Xigbar, but he couldn't let Axel down yet, he knew he was gonna be in for it anyway. Why not continue to help him out?
“Well, thank you for telling me that much. I’ll consider being more on my guard from now on. In the meantime,” He said, turning around. “You keep doing your job.”
“All right then,” Xaldin said, with a smirk on his face. “Let me patrol the proof of existence chamber, I’m sure all of the rooms need a little tidying up to be done.”
Xigbar stopped in his tracks. He pondered for a moment, wondering if he should intervene for Axel’s sake. But, not wanting to give Xaldin the upper hand, he decided to forget the whole thing and began walking again. As he did, he told Xaldin:
“Fine. Just be sure to clean those rooms from head to toe. It’s what we expect of you, Xaldy, baby.”
As Xigbar descended the stairway, Xaldin was left pondering at what could’ve been a vague clue. Ultimately, he decided to stop wasting time and eventually went into the Proof of Existance chamber, with the intention of killing two birds with one stone.
He went into the chamber, and he entered Xigbar’s door first. He cleaned the room as best as the other members expected him to do, while at the same time looking for possible clues of Axel’s whereabouts. He inspected all the rooms in order of rank, and eventually came to Saïx’s door...
Oooh...what happens next? You'll have to wait and see, unless you don't want to, since the Chapter isn't all that interesting anyway, in either case tell me what you think plz.
