Re: The ORG! [33/40]
Chapter 34 - Coup de XIII
“Just dropping by. Wanted to tag along with Nevex.”
His eyes were piercing, which was different for Dryxaim. Xeyla felt uneasy, and moved out of the way, letting both of the Nobodies in. Nevex went to the other side of the room without a word, fiddling with a series of wires on the wall. She noticed Dryxaim just standing there, watching him work, from a distance, closer to Xeyla’s mixers and computers. Still strange. She decided to save her work and tend to them both, so she hurried over o the machines, back turned to the other two.
“Tell me when it’s done.”
Whispering. What was that? Someone talking to her? No. Then Nevex snorted quietly.
“Ahah, yes, right, heheh…”
“What?”
Xeyla whipped around. For a moment she saw Dryxaim with an expression of panic, but it went away in a flash.
“Yes, Superior?” He asked, calmly and obediently.
She stared, uneasily, then went back to her business without a word. Concern began to take her. She slowly typed at the terminal, listening to the light clicking and sparkling and snapping from Nevex’s augmentations to the speaker system. The master control was in her room; she could make commands from anywhere in the area, rather than having to direct her voice. Her whole crib was pretty tricked-out that way.
Dryxaim’s boots tapped on the metal floor as he paced. The keys clacked. A screwdriver pinged on the control panel. The voices-
“Just a minute.”
“Good. Make it big.”
Okay that was SU5P!C10v5
Xeyla turned again, this time looking far more agitated. Her now-revealed weapon appeared in two parts, one in each hand. In her right was a long metal shaft that was thin and sharp at one end; the other held a silver microphone, adorned with angelic wings arcing off the sides. In an instant she combined them, the bottom of the microphone attached to the shaft, making a microphone stand that doubled as a deadly rapier.
“What are you doing here, Dryxaim?” She demanded to know, pointing her sword with perfect posture.
“To come and see Nevex work-”
“Don’t lie to m3.” She hissed. Dryxaim smiled, and turned his hands, palms-up.
“Just wanted to show you my new weapon.”
All ten claws popped out, gleaming in the bits of neon light in the room. Xeyla’s eye twitched, and Dryxaim’s smile remained, giving him the most sinister of expressions. They both knew where he had found those gloves, but Xeyla was not going to admit she did. It was impossible. How could he? He was not even…
“Wait, it’s wasn’t these.”
The door slammed open. A figure was in the doorway, a black, short outline of a person in Xeyla’s dim quarters. There was barely any sound from their walking, and by their height and apparel, Xeyla at first thought she was looking at Txamt or Xade or no no no no no. No. That…no. No!
Kinxu came up to Dryxaim’s side, and stood. Her face had on it the same evil grin.
“Ki-” Xeyla stammered. She looked to Nevex in the corner, then Dryxaim, then back to the white-haired girl. Something was so wrong. So, very wrong.
“What’s up, boss?”
Xeyla recognized her sweet voice under what was now much more gruff and inarticulate. There was none of the poise she was familiar with, nor the soft face, nor innocent look in her eyes. Even their gentle blue was gone, replaced by stale purple. She looked positively evil, and spiteful; her arms hung limply at her sides like she was tired from lifting heavy things with them.
“It’s a big reunion!” Nevex called out, giggling to himself. Nevex, you too?
“Isn’t it?” Dryxaim reinforced. “How long has it been since we’ve seen…Xynras? Really, maybe not that long. We just missed you so much, man.” He laughed, and put an arm around her shoulders in a very bro-like way. Xeyla looked like she was going to pop a blood vessel from the sight of contact.
“What did you do.” She asked, flatly. No, had he…? What did he do?! She was just…no, no no. She was dead! Xynras? The way she sounded…no, it was impossible. Completely impossible. Nevex joined the duo, facing down their contested leader.
“Just brought along my new weapon!” He patted her on the arm. “And I am just raring to test her out.”
She raised that same arm, and one of her gatling guns conjured around it. It whirled and buzzed, but Dryxaim nudged her before any shots were fired. Xeyla was back to staring in disbelief; that gun only proved his claims.
“…Not on you, but the rest of these ingrates.”
“St0p!” Xeyla shouted, eyes turned hot white. Dryxaim shook his head.
“Fun trick. Watch, I can do it too!” He raised his hands in gesture. “Guys, go start the party downstairs.”
Oh god why was it not working. WHAT DID HE DO.
Kinxu left through a Corridor while Nevex took the door back out. Only numbers I and XII remained.
“And I did that all on my own. Stopping your powers? Needed a little help with that, but it was easy. I do love everything I’ve accumulated, too. Oh, Superior, watch this one!”
Hands still up, one of them slowly rolled into a fist, and he snapped. The usual snap was amplified by the powers he copied off of the enemy Nobody, rocking the walls of the room. Dryxaim looked back and forth; he could see the sound waves bounce around. Xeyla covered an ear, also aware of the damaging energy. Dryxaim pointed a finger towards the control panel behind him, and all of the sound energy in the room focused on that point. The speakers took in the noise and sent it to every other speaker in the castle.
And one by one, they detonated. An earthquake of explosions and compressing air rocked the entire superstructure of a building.
“Looks like I took away your moves, Superior.” He looked towards the ceiling for a second, then back at her. “Xeyla.”
She disagreed. The rapier was held tight, and she kept her pose. Dryxaim accepted the challenge; he would humiliate her more than he ever needed to, but he was fine with deviating from the plan to do that. He flexed his fingers and brandished the talons, waving them at Xeyla threateningly. She would hate to be on the receiving end of them for more reasons than one.
~~~~~
Sujnax and Txamt were sitting on the opposite side of the Grey Area because they were in fact waiting to murder those by the tall glass wall in front of them. Without a leader like Dryxaim, things would seem hopeless. After all, the entirety of Organization XIII had been assembled; Serox, Xando, Xade, Eastxi, Arxyn, and Kaxsra. Even when reinforcements arrived they would be outnumbered. They knew that the one who brought them all together had a plan, though. He told them they would know when things would take a turn for the better.
Without warning, the castle shook with intense tremors. Something on the ceiling exploded, and chunks of it fell from above. Arxyn vacated an armchair to avoid being crushed. Just as quickly, a Corridor opened up between the waiting Sujnax and Txamt, through which Kinxu strolled out. The demonic grin never left her face, and it only seemed to grow as she heaved up the two bulky machine guns. Serox and Kaxsra saw her, and even though they recognized the weapons, they were not at all familiar with the freak of a girl wielding them. They dived out of her range, but Kinxu managed to spray an enormous area of the lounge with laser rounds.
The glass windows had shattered. Xando flipped a table over and had taken cover behind it, inviting Xade to come for protection. Arxyn ducked and shielded his face with an arm, looking expectantly towards Sujnax. He should be doing something to stop this, unless he was part of it? Mutiny! He would have to alert the Superi-
More bullets. He rolled behind a the couch where Eastxi was. For him, in his weakened and frenzied state, the barrage was too much to handle. He peeked over the furniture as Kinxu reloaded, and Arxyn fired projectiles from his arms; his own, rapidly-regenerating bones.
Serox, obviously, could only think of how right she was, and how stupid she had been. Why had she not said something before? Where was Xeyla! Was she even here now?!
~~~~~
She was dueling Dryxaim, jabbing and stabbing with every aggressive lunge. Her powers would not help her, but she was still adept at fighting, which she knew Dryxaim was not himself. Yet, he did reflect the blows with the claws quite well, like he could sense where she was going to strike from.
“You want to take over, do you?” She asked through her teeth.
“I want to clean up.” He responded.
“You think there’s more waste here than good. How do you expect to stand a chance? Once your-” She was cut off when Dryxaim slashed forward, and had to bring her rapier up to stop her nose from being clawed off. “Once your rebellion gets smashed!”
Dryxaim reeled back, breathing heavy.
Weakling, she thought.
“You think I went through with this without accounting for numbers, of all things? Hah!”
~~~~~
Nevex enjoyed his relaxing walk to the lounge. It was the last time the castle was ever going to feel that way again, so he wanted to savor it. Good times, good memories. After tonight, there would be a new order. The ear-piercing sound Dryxaim started up did not bother him a bit; the bright orange, crystal buds he inserted into his ear protected him from such effects.
Not this guy, though.
Ryjemex was at the base of the hexagonal platforms at Ruin and Creation’s Passage. He was tending to his left arm, the mechanical one. It had been disrupted by the sound blast. He saw Nevex and hurried over to him; the inventor knew this would have to be one of those times where they would have to put their rivalry aside.
“Nevex, something’s wrong.”
“You’re right, it’s started. Heheh.”
“What?” He asked, confused. He rotated his wrist, regaining some control of his limb.
“The coup. The coup that is going to mean trouble for, aheheh, a lot of people.”
“Then let’s do something about it!”
“Oh, I p-plan to- ahah! Hahaha!” He burst out laughing, eyes shutting as he wrapped an arm around his stomach, leaning forward. The other went up and blasted Ryjemex with a bolt of orange electricity. He dodged it, and another, and a third blast, until Nevex had to stop to catch his breath.
“Stand still!” He shouted, chuckling.
“What are you doing!” Ryjemex yelled back, shocked. Was he in on what was happening? It was not like Nevex to resort to violence in their rivalry.
~~~~~
“Did you like what I brought, by the way?” Dryxaim asked, slashing and pulling back. “I thought you might.”
Every little comment he made on Kinxu being there struck a nerve. She did not care if it was really her, if he had done something to her, or if it was just a trick- it something that reached into her stomach and twisted her insides around. The dirtiest move. But, how did he even know…?
“I heard you and your guest talking.” He explained, retreating to take a breather. Xeyla wanted to strike again and again, but needed to listen.
“And, wow, you should really soundproof these walls! Because I heard something really cool.” They strafed in a circle, Xeyla becoming increasingly furious. “About Kinxu, here. Something I didn’t know about her the last time I saw her.”
When did he see her-
“With a knife in her chest.”
~~~~~
Ryjemex realized how much danger he was in. Nevex would not let up, and was cackling with every arc of lightning that shot from the gems on his body. He felt almost bad about doing it, but he would be killed if he did not do anything, so. Ryjemex felt the power surge back into his arm, so he brought it up and launched a sharp blade from the top of his wrist. It zipped through the air, attached to Ryjemex by a clinking chain.
It went right towards Nevex’s chest.
~~~~~
Xeyla had gone down to inspect the murder scene herself. She suspected it was Ryjemex that had committed the dead, but she liked him too much to punish him, as he was too important to kill. She had to put personal relationships aside.
“And so I did some research, some digging, back at Radiant Garden…”
No no no no no no.
“…About how you and your sister were kept there for quite some time.”
He had to die. Now. She felt the most painful feeling yet spike up in her chest, and her arms and legs moved in for a fatal attack all on their own. Dryxaim sidestepped and spun and positioned himself behind her, scoffing at the attempt. The claws retracted back into his gloves, or, as Xeyla saw it, Kinxu’s gloves, and he replaced the weapons with a new one in his right hand. A chunk of frozen nitrogen formed out of thin air. Dryxaim was tired of this version, though, so he modified it. His entire arm glowed silver, as did the makeshift sword, and he had created a blade of mystical plasma. His eyes were nearly white.
“And really, I wouldn’t have if I knew then, but it was a matter of survival.” He lied about that last part. “And, I managed to swipe that gauntlet from Ryjemex earlier. Wanted to give it a test run.”
What was he saying?
~~~~~
Orange bolts arced from Nevex’s body, striking the chain as it came forward. Nevex quickly turned on one heel, letting the blade whirl past him, only a few inches away from impaling him. Ryjemex scowled, and motioned to reel it in, but Nevex clasped his hand around the chain, still in mid-air. All of the electricity he had been generating flowed into the chain and towards Ryjemex. He had been prepared for such occasions though, and the chain detached.
That did not really matter though, because it was electricity. It jumped from the chain to his metal arm, and then to the rest of him, paralyzing his joints and making his muscles spasm. It was too much juice. He fell to his knees, and then to his face. Nevex, appreciating their past relationship too much, just stepped over his body on his way to the Grey Area.
~~~~~
“So what I’m saying is, is that I that killed her.”
…
“Murdered your sister.” The silver aura licked around his shoulders, engulfing his torso.
Wordlessly, without any warning, Xeyla attacked. It was her most ruthless series of thrusts and jabs yet. Dryxaim mimicked her skills by using his own blade to fence, almost mocking her in the way he parried over-dramatically.
She should have killed him when she had the chance. SHE HAD THE CHANCE AND SHE DID NOT DO IT. That idea just kept ringing in her ears. It racked her brain, shook her soul. Everything inside her was trembling and everything on the outside had no feeling in it. Her skin was cold, her chest was hot. Every possible enraged impulse told her to drive that sword into that blonde cretin’s stomach, and then some. Oh how she wanted to. Just like he did to her. But, he was so strong.
No matter, though. She would receive help soon. His friends would be killed and he would be left with nothing but his own corrupted conscience.
~~~~~
This is terrible. There are only three but they had them pinned down. Serox knew she had to do something. She would only leave them for a little while, just to find Xeyla. She just had to check her room, and maybe a couple of other rooms, and then the fight would end when she was found!
Kaxsra had summoned his armor and was firing blue energy blasts towards Kinxu. Xando pointed and mumbled to Xade and Eastxi, organizing a plan as soon as he could with what prior information he had of the fight. There were too many sensations to predict what exactly were the right moves to make, though. Xade nodded and crawled over to Serox, trying to inspire her team mates. The black-haired girl was successful.
They just had to go with it; be powerful, superhuman beings that could do whatever the hell they wanted to create unparalleled destruction.
Xade leaped from behind the upturned couch, focusing her powers on the floor in front of them. An enormous chunk of earth burst from the ground, shaking the castle in a second series of tremors. The rock was at an angle, making a steep ramp for the loyal Nobodies while acting as a wall against the rebels. Serox took to the top of it in a flash, like a true ninja, with Xando close behind. Kinxu locked on right away, and opened fire.
Eastxi rushed around and nearly collided with Txamt, who did not see the wolf-man coming, but once he did was scared out of his mind. He conjured one of his bolas in his hand and whipped it at Eastxi’s ankles. They did not manage to tie him up, but they did make him stumble. That gave Txamt enough time to follow the throw up by swinging another chain; this one longer and with a spiked ball on the end. Eastxi ducked and rolled away, clambering to his feet and panting hard. Up above, rocks came crumbling down.
Xando dove from the stone towards Kinxu, deflecting lasers with precision with his swords. He drove one blade into the floor, barely missing Kinxu when she jumped back. The other was heaved forward, managing to knick her on her shoulder guard. Her face contorted to rage, and she brought one of her guns up to fill him full of holes.
Kaxsra saw Xando in danger, and fired a blast of blue fire from his shield. It hit Kinxu in the chest and sent her back, struggling under the weight of her weapons. The flame, still going, hit Txamt. Seeing him flail around, Serox flashed over to him and raised her staff. A jet of stinging liquid met her face before she could strike.
Arxyn was right behind Kaxsra when he entered the fray, so while blue magic was flying around, he was moving in on Sujnax. Xade saw him doing this and kicked off some of the stone, sending high-velocity chips of earth towards the bipolar rebel. Some of it fell onto Eastxi below.
Sujnax used the long needs that stretched from under his wrists to block Arxyn as he came at him with spiked arms. The rocks he did not see coming, so some of them hit him in the arm while others splintered a bone sticking out from Arxyn’s back. He cursed in pain, but kept punching with sharp knuckles. Sujnax stepped back when he could and squirted streams of acid at Arxyn, in hopes it would do something. Nope. Arxyn just dodged some, letting them go off in other directions, but even the ones that his did nothing. Sujnax knew that his powers were worthless against someone with organic weapons, and wished he would receive help. If only Dryxaim or someone would get down here already-
The power surged, suddenly. There was a sharp crackling sound, and an orange lightning bolt heated the air as it blew up the wall behind them all. Nevex jumped down, very triumphantly. Xade flung rocks, but Kinxu had recovered, and shot them down. The loyal members regrouped, with Arxyn firing just a few more bone attacks as he backed towards Eastxi. The old man was struggling, for some reason. He should, by all means, be carrying their team.
Serox returned to the chunk of stone, but it was losing its worth as a shield. Xade focused again, this time making a thick pillar of stone erupt from one of the side walls. It erected itself in between the opposing sides, allowing Kaxsra and Xando to get to higher ground. Nevex looked up, unphased, and raised his arms, summoning a storm of electricity above their heads. Xando was zapped, making him fall back, while Kaxsra went back to the floor. Txamt tossed a few more bolas towards Xade and Serox, who had to move their feet quick.
Kaxsra saw Nevex’s turning a bit to heart. They were working for the same side, and he even made him the armor he was wearing! He had to show him just what he was getting himself into, picking a fight with him on the other side. Kinxu and Sujnax were occupied, so he could just move in and-
Nevex waved, smiled, and pressed a button on his gem-studded belt. Kaxsra felt the armor all at once become heavier and stiffer. He collapsed in place. The armor had shut down. Kaxsra came to realize that attacking the guy who built what he was wearing may have been a bad idea.
Xade came down from her place and went for Sujnax. Ah, Sujnax thought, finally I can do something effective. He aimed his needle and blasted another stream of acid. Xade, acting so impulsively, forgot just which personality she was dealing with, and had to retreat when her large and intimidating axe started to corrode on one side.
Behind the newer rock, Arxyn was trying to make Eastxi get to his feet, but the werewolf clawed and scratched at him, forcing him away. Arxyn told him they could just bring Serox over to heal him of whatever was ailing him, but Eastxi knew that she would not be able to do anything. Low on energy and conscious, he staggered away from the scene of the fight.
Kaxsra squirmed, but finally called off the armor. It had no power source, but he could still summon it and whatnot. Without a weapon to be of any use, he slinked away and left through a Corridor.
Serox slid down the pillar to avoid more laser fire. Reloading did not take that long and the bullets just kept coming. She caught her breath and checked to see if everyone was alright. Xando and Arxyn were fending off Txamt and Sujnax, and not having an easy time of it, Xade looked flat-out demoralized, and Eastxi and Kaxsra were nowhere to be scene. Were they losing?
If…if they were, then she had bigger priorities. Xeyla was more important.
Xando, Arxyn, and Xade were the only ones remaining. The tables had turned.
They desperately fought. Xando slashed at the metal chains and lasers, while Xade did what she could to keep Nevex away. Neither of them had noticed how frightening the mad scientist could be when he really gets going. The lightning filled the room, knocking lights out and spiraling out the shattered window. Arxyn stayed under the rock, fighting from a distance to cover his fellow members. That was all he could do. That and formulate a plan. He wished Ryjemex was there to help in that department, but he figured, if they could just take out the weakest link, they might have a chance. It would be even at least.
He looked to Txamt. Arxyn was becoming exhausted, and his body could only regenerate itself so much in so little time. He was out of shots, and just grew a pair of sharp bone-blades from his wrists. The Bandit shouted for Xade to cover him, and while she was caught off-guard and confused, she did as he said, and swiped her arm forward, calling a mass of stone to shoot forth and created a weak wall between Arxyn and Txamt, and everyone else.
Txamt looked freaked, but fought back. He swung one of his chains and tossed it, but Arxyn moved out of its path with ease. All that kid was to him was a worthless neophyte that made the worst choice possible, and he was going to suffer for it.
He brought his arm back, and Txamt was cowering, bending his knees in a hopeless defensive stance, meekly holding out his own metal blade. It too was attached to a chain; it was sort of a running theme for him.
The stone to their side exploded. Lasers flooded through the splintering rock. Kinxu had been hammering at the wall non-stop to get the drop on Arxyn, but Xando and Xade could do nothing as Sujnax held them back with his corrosive attacks. The lasers struck, Arxyn was stunned, and Txamt found himself only having to push his arm forward to bring him to his end.
He lay there bleeding, face-down, on the floor, with Txamt in front of him, knocked back. The plan had failed pretty hard, reducing what had looked like an easy fight to a two-on-four pointless endeavor. Xade stared at the body for a while before Xando pulled her back. She raised a column of stone to stop any more advances, but the four Nobodies on the other side were content with that progress they had made.
Him dying was the final straw. Up until then that whole thing could have been brushed off as some intense training, but not anymore. He was dead, and some of the others had abandoned them. They crossed the line. The line was far away now.
Another Corridor came and went, and Xeyla’s influence was then only extended to one other person in The World That Never Was.
~~~~~
The others had escaped, and would be fine. Serox was not sure about Xeyla though. Why had she not been tracking her down just a little more vigilantly? She could have prevented this all. Stupid! Dryxaim did this. It was his fault. Somehow he made all of this shit go down and he had to pay. No matter what. His potential was finally becoming real.
She reached Xeyla’s room; the door was locked, or sealed shut, likely by some magnetic properties that Nevex installed upon it on his way out. Serox stabbed the lock with her staff and tore it apart, finally slamming into the door with full force, ramming her shoulder into it. The sight terrified and surprised her.
Xeyla had been beaten. She was on the floor, head down, sword off to the side. Dryxaim was standing a distance away, alight with silver flames. He cocked his head over and smiled when he saw Serox, though much more calmly than the diabolical faces he had on prior.
“Ser, I was just showing Xeyla out.”
How dare he use her name.
“Escort her, won’t you?”
Like hell should would.
Serox dove at Dryxaim bloodthirsty. He messed everything up; she had no idea how but he had finally done it. There was no going back. It was now or never. Live or die. Both of them go on or both of them fizzle out. Vengeance.
“Get us 0ut of h3re.” Mumbled Xeyla, from her place on the floor.
Dryxaim stood still as stone as Serox immediately stopped in place, and began walking towards Xeyla. She helped her leader up and had to almost carry her out of the room. Dryxaim could not help but feel a tinge of disappointment. He really wanted to fight her. Prove it to her. Prove how much better he was.
Xeyla did not look back either. Serox took them both through a portal, leaving Dryxaim alone in the dimly-lit room.
His room. His castle.
