Disclaimers and Useless/Useful Stuff to Know:
I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Never will! Likely spoilers about, but you knew that, didn't you?

---
From Chains, the Rust

by Alba Aulbath
---

from three:
Joining in the Trinity

---

"It's not... long now..."

"Heh. Don't say that. Keep your spirits up."

"You've gotten kinder. I think... maybe this has worked out for you, after all... I'm glad..."

"Hey. Hey, keep your eyes open! HEY!"

"Sorry... I can't. But... you... please do me two favors... just two..."

"...You got it."

"The first... you know, I can't, not without your help. And the... the second... take this letter to him for me..."

"...Sure."

She smiled. "Thank you, Axel."

Axel watched her close her eyes for good.

---

It was a quick return into the jungle, though Yuffie was still opposed to ever venturing back into it. The moment they stepped outside, it seemed as though she was fated to suffer insects feasting upon her blood, while Leon walked like nothing was wrong and Kuzco essentially strutted.

Yuffie sent scowls in their directions, determined to loathe them for as long as she was slapping bugs off her skin.

"What can you tell us about the temple and Quetzalcoatl?" Leon inquired, tilting his head curiously.

"Mostly just legends." A hand was waved in Leon's direction, but Kuzco continued, "I dunno. I didn't really pay attention. I mean, it was Yzma telling me everything about it. I tuned out most of it, but the deal is that some hundred years ago or somethin', Quetzalcoatl appeared an' established herself here, offering her power to the royal bloodline an' all that. You know, yours truly." The emperor pointed to himself. "So, only I can get in and talk to her and some junk like that. I don't really dig the whole 'mystical' mumbo jumbo." On the word 'mystical', he held up his fingers and twitched them for "quotation marks".

Leon rubbed his chin. "So... she's not native here?"

"I don't really know, and I'm not gonna go ask Yzma."

After slapping a bug on her neck, Yuffie grumbled before asking, "Who's this Yzma person?"

Scratching the beck of his neck, Kuzco took a moment to determine the best way to describe her. "You ever meet a creepy old person that makes you wonder how the heck their skin is managing to hold them together? She's about fifty times scarier than that."

"Grossness," Yuffie replied, sticking out her tongue in disgust.

"Oh, way beyond grossness and more 'grody to the max'. She was my advisor and got into this nasty habit of trying to take over the kingdom from me. Sure, I kind of had it coming and all, but that doesn't make her any less, you know, evil." Kuzco shrugged, accepting it in stride.

"So what happened?" the ninja pressed.

"She fell on one of her potions and turned into a kitten." Before he allowed to let that bit of information sink in for both Leon and Yuffie, Kuzco pointed ahead. "Hey! The temple's over there!"

Forgetting momentarily on the talk of scary women and kittens, Leon turned to look where the emperor was pointing. "Just over that hill?"

Grinning and nodding, Kuzco motioned the pair to follow him as he ran ahead, having little problem hopping over the occasional troublesome root; not only did he know the way, but he seemed to know the jungle fairly well. All things considered, Leon was silently impressed; for a kid about Yuffie's age, he wasn't a terribly spoiled brat and seemed to actually knew what he was doing. He turned, tapping Yuffie on the shoulder to hurry and follow while he brought up the rear.

Kuzco pushed aside some branches, stepping through into a small clearing. The temple wasn't enormous, by any means, but it was big enough. The walls were darkened by mud and moss, but the structure was clear enough, rounded off and pointed at the top. There was no visible entrance, though at apparently the "front", a design was there -- one that looked eerily enough like an eye with some kind of wings.

Leon looked intently at the design. It didn't seem familiar at all, but it was... odd.

Coming around a corner of the temple was a man, grumbling; he was incredibly pale, almost gray. His eyes, an intense red, and his ears were pointed; flowing down his back was combed back light blue hair. The stranger was wearing armor and a flowing red cloak, a scythe strapped to his back.

"Where the hell is the damned entrance?" the man grumbled, his voice a rasp, something crooked about it. He traced his fingers over the wall. "Can't blast myself inside..."

"Hey!" Kuzco pointed at him. "Man, you're still hanging around?" He glanced to Leon and Yuffie. "What'd I tell you? Walking cliche."

"Heh." The stranger turned to face them. "Boy, you have no idea who you're dealing with."

Biting his lip, Kuzco squinted, as if he was thinking very deeply on the subject matter. "Hrrmm. Hmmm! ...A creepy guy who needs throat spray?"

"You know, lozenges are nicer," Yuffie suggested.

Kuzco added with, "Cherry flavored?"

"No way! Grape!" Yuffie answered.

"HEY!" the stranger snapped at them. "How do I get inside, boy?"

As Kuzco turned his nose up in the air immaturely for his response, Leon took over to shake his head at the emperor before demanding, "What do you want inside?"

The stranger shrugged. "I'll be honest. I plan the pillage the inside and out for my own devices. Got a problem with that?"

"Well, lemme think. Considering that I'm the emperor and technically I own this temple? Yyyyeah, yeah I really do," Kuzco told him.

"Technicalities, oi." The man rolled his eyes. "Look, hate to disappoint you, but I'm on a tight schedule. I'm not gonna fight you." Raising his hand, he snapped his fingers. "But, somebody else will. Fair 'nough?"

Leon held up his hand. "Actually--"

"BRING IT ON!" Yuffie shouted at the stranger, while Kuzco turned to look at Leon, squinting again and mouthing the word 'fight' questionably; Leon just planted his hand to his face.

The shadows were moving, and it brought familiar chills up Leon's spine; he knew that kind of twitch, the way creatures were yanking themselves from the darkness of shade and crawling towards him. Latent trauma would always know, but he brushed it off.

"Heartless," Leon announced to both his companions.

"Man! C'mon, lame!" Yuffie snapped at the stranger.

The man simply shrugged. "Like I said, I'm on a tight schedule. Later, morons." Mock saluting them, he leapt off a rock and glided around the corner of the temple.

As the Shadows twitched closer, Leon simply shook his head and pulled out his gunblade, turning and preparing to strike. Behind him, he heard Yuffie grumble and slide out her shuriken, already throwing a few at the crawling Heartless. While Leon was raising his weapon to slash down, he felt someone tug at his jacket sleeve.

Turning his head, Leon peered at Kuzco. "What?"

"Yeah, hi. Issue." The young emperor pointed wildly at the Shadows. "What are those things!"

"Ooo, yeah." Yuffie winced, scratching her head. "I guess we just got kinda used to everyone knowing about 'em."

"Long story short." Raising the gunblade again, Leon slashed at Heartless leaping into the air, letting it dissolve away into black mist. "Heartless are the enemy."

"Very, very bad creatures," Yuffie announced, throwing one of her smaller shurikens at a Shadow.

Leon only nodded to her before looking back to the young emperor. "Do you know how to fight?"

Kuzco raised a brow at him, not giving him a verbal response. Essentially, the look he presented spoke for itself: 'are you kidding me?' And, well, why would he need to know? In hindsight, Leon should have figured it was a ridiculous question. The kid had guards all over the palace.

King Mickey knows how to fight, Leon thought to himself a bit defensively.

"Nevermind. Let Yuffie and me handle it," he decided. "Try to get some cover, Kuzco."

The emperor immediately fled to find something to hide behind; getting out of the way during combat wouldn't be an issue for him. Once he was sure that Kuzco was out of the way, Leon charged into the mass of Shadows, whirling his gunblade, familiar with the patterns of the way the Heartless fought and having Yuffie watch his back as usual. Fire spells were thrown from his hand before he struck, and if he ever missed a Shadow, a shuriken was sure to fly out to knock it down for him.

"Uhh, I think we have a problem," Yuffie muttered, backing up until she almost bumped into Leon.

It was as if striking at the gathered Heartless was doing nothing in their favor. The amount of Shadows weren't diminishing, Leon noticed finally.

Leon tried to think of a solution. What could they honestly do? He turned around, raising his gunblade to slash at another Heartless, but paused when the Shadow's head was struck with an acorn.

"HA!" Kuzco pointed and laughed from behind his rock. "Totally got you!"

The mob of Heartless turned to notice the emperor, yellow eyes blinking before the group started to chase after him.

Kuzco paled. "Uh, I mean... it wasn't me. It was... a monkey... that looked suspiciously like me. ... CRAP CRAP!" As much as the young ruler of the kingdom was hardly a fighter, he was terrific at running for his life. He started to make his way towards the temple.

"Kuzco, wait! There isn't a door!" Yuffie shouted after him.

"Forget it; follow him!" Leon told her, hurrying after the emperor.

As they followed after the fleeing ruler, Leon watched carefully as sparks began to flicker around the front of the closed off temple. It completely distracted him; the lightning grew and exploded, pieces of the temple flying off and opening a set of doors for the trio. Kuzco went inside without another thought, and the doors began to shut. Squeaking in surprise, Yuffie sped up and literally threw herself in, Leon running after her and nearly tripping over her lying form on the floor. The doors shut closed behind them, preventing the Heartless from following.

It was pitch black and they couldn't see a thing, but Leon could tell there was the distinct smell of moisture, moss, and age.

"Anyone got a light?" Kuzco asked, his voice almost whining, edging towards a complaint.

The walls flickered like the outside had, and parts of the wall where torches ought to have been were instead dancing with twines of electricity, illuminating the hallway.

"That was frighteningly helpful," the emperor muttered. "You guys okay?"

Leon dusted himself off before helping Yuffie to her feet. "Fine. How did you get it to open?"

"Like I said, it won't open without me!" Kuzco grinned confidently.

"But how?"

"I, uh. I dunno."

Yuffie scrunched up her nose. "Well, at least the Heartless won't follow us. What about that guy with the blue hair?"

"Probably still stuck outside; I doubt there's more than one entrance," Leon assured her. "Kuzco, do you know the way around in here?"

Laughing and looking terribly abashed, Kuzco scratched the back of his neck before shaking his head. "I haven't been in here in years," he admitted. "And even then, it was with Yzma. I don't know where anything is."

Leon and Yuffie exchanged glances; the ninja shrugged and suggested, "Guess we wander until we find something?"

"About the best bet we've got. This door isn't going to open up again anytime soon -- not unless Kuzco figures it out," Leon responded.

"Well, dungeon crawling's always fun! Or... temple crawling in this case," Yuffie said, shrugging.

Kuzco presented both of them with a thumbs up of approval. "Goody, sounds like a grand ol' time. But while we're wandering around all lost, can you tell me what the heck the Heartless are?"

Rubbing her chin, Yuffie muttered, "This? Is gonna be a long story."

---

As the three continued down the hallway, Leon and Yuffie had traded moments to explain the Heartless, which had evolved into explaining the Keyblade Master and all things related to it. Gradually, as they wandered the halls of Quetzalcoatl's temple, Kuzco had become more and more interested -- which was, likely, exactly why Donald had once fruitlessly attempted to uphold the rather useless "meddling" laws he'd been raised on. The young emperor had that smirk back, and it was suggesting that Kuzco was thinking of something devious. Certainly not underhanded; as much as he was certainly a teenager and had his quirks, he didn't seem to be a bad kid.

It gradually became that Leon had explained his current standing and why he was adventuring all of the sudden. It seemed that, somehow, Kuzco wasn't bothered that some off-worlder was working for the Lord of the Dead.

"It could be worse," Kuzco had figured.

Yuffie had blinked at him, puzzled. "What... how?"

"It just could be."

It was like anyone else in Leon's life; he observed them, and just as soon as Leon thought he had someone figured out, they surprised him. He thought he had understood Yuffie long ago as a selfish brat -- yet, she had her selfless moments. After all, she was an incredibly loyal friend and always came through for the people she cared about. There were times when Leon had figured Aerith into being the basic innocent young woman -- yet, she was fierce, spunky, and just as capable of taking care of herself as anyone else was at Radiant Garden. At the moment, Kuzco had something on his mind. What could be worse than some stranger barging in, grabbing a crystal from your temple, and working under the orders of the God of the Dead?

It just could be, apparently.

As much as Leon thought he could establish something, there was always another surprise.

As a matter of fact, I don't even understand myself sometimes.

Eventually, the three turned a corner, finding themselves in a circular room; there tribal designs of a bird on the ceiling, as well as storms and lightning. Before them, there was a platform, holding the same glittering crystal shard that Leon recognized.

"That's it, right?" Kuzco pointed at the platform.

Leon nodded. "Kuzco, thanks for your help. Sorry it got chaotic."

"Hey, I'm the man with the groove; I can roll with it," the emperor reassured, approaching the platform. He reached out for the crystal, "Let's just get this--"

Suddenly, the dimly lit room was illuminated, bolts of electricity thundering out of the walls and striking Kuzco, with enough force to lift him into the air and keep him there. The young emperor looked surprised, but nothing -- no noise, no scream of shock -- came out of him.

"Kuzco!" Yuffie yelped, bobbing from foot to foot nervously, trying to figure out what to do. "L-Leon, c'mon!"

"I don't know!" He hadn't meant to, but Leon snapped at her; he was just as clueless.

Eventually, the lightning bolts lowered Kuzco to the floor; once his feet were settled, he toppled over, curled up.

Yuffie hurried over to check on him. "Kuzco? Kuzco! Hey!" Then she paused, squinting at him. The emperor had his thumb in his mouth and was snoring loudly. "...Oh gawd. He's asleep!"

"What just happened?" Leon wondered, frowning in puzzlement.

Another clashing sound of thunder, and a bolt struck the platform; once the dust cleared, a strange cross of a reptile and a bird with intricate designs on its back was perched, looking down over them somehow though it lacked eyes or anything like a face except the hint of a shape.

"ACK!" Yuffie squeaked, leaping to her feet. She looked from the giant bird to the sleeping form of the emperor, then snapped at Kuzco, "Hey! How are you still asleep!"

"So we meet again at last, Squall." No mouth moved from the bird, but it echoed into their minds and not the walls; it was almost like it was spoken psychically, clearly with a female voice. "I wondered when it'd be that our paths would cross again."

Doubletaking, Yuffie looked from the bird to Leon. "Wha... you know this thingy?"

Shaking his head, Leon replied, "No. I don't... I don't think so."

"It is the price we pay for the power." The bird sounded mournful. "I am Quetzalcoatl. Sometime ago, we cooperated to defeat a vicious Sorceress -- but that is an entirely different tale to tell, and one for you to recall."

While Yuffie looked at him expectantly, Leon just rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to think on the matter. Sorceress? Quetzalcoatl? What! "...Whatever," he muttered, sounding and feeling exhausted. "What happened to Kuzco?"

"It is because of him I was able to awaken. Through his family is a bloodline, able to bring me aware. There are others like him, gifted -- some because of their bloodline, some because they are talented or determined to do so. They are the Summoners. Though I'm afraid our meeting has tired him." Quetzalcoatl lifted her head. "I have a request of you, Squall Leonhart. And you as well, Yuffie Kisaragi. Take Kuzco with you where you go. If you wish to continue your journey, there are other temples. Only Summoners can open them. Kuzco can help you, if you would allow it."

"We can't just grab the emperor out of his kingdom on a whim," Leon responded. "We might need his help, but it's not that simple."

"I dunno, if King Mickey can up and disappear--" Yuffie began.

Leon cut her off with, "You're NOT HELPING."

"I understand your concern. But with due time and the right teachers available, Kuzco will be helpful to you, as both a Summoner and a mage. I can hardly blame him for ignoring all of his previous studies; Yzma was never a particularly good teacher." Quetzalcoatl tilted her head. "Please take him with you. I will come as well; he will be able to summon me, if he needs. It's up to you two to find a teacher for him -- and it will be soon up to you all to mend what's been done and what's been planned."

Yuffie scratched the back of her neck. "You know, this sounds all pretty damned contrived."

Quetzalcoatl chuckled. "Continue as you will. But don't turn your back on Hades for even a moment -- nor turn your back on your mind and your heart."

Another boom of thunder and the spark of lightning, and she was gone.

There was a period of silence, then Yuffie muttered, "What? We don't even get to VOTE on the matter?"

"I get the feeling gods don't believe in voting," Leon responded. "Let's see if the door will open for us and get Kuzco home for now. We'll talk about it when he wakes up. Yuffie, go grab the crystal. I'll carry Kuzco."

---

Returning the emperor to the palace had brought a lot of raised eyebrows, but seeing as how Kuzco wasn't physically harmed -- just exhausted -- nothing was said or done about it, simply suspicious looks from the palace guards. Yuffie and Leon were led to the emperor's personal quarters, setting him down to keep sleeping.

It was a difficult decision to make. On one hand, it was hard to deny a god a request, else a bolt of lightning may show their fury; on the other hand, much as Leon was sure that Kuzco wasn't a bad kid, he wasn't entirely fond of yanking him out of a familiar environment and onto a strange quest serving a God of the Dead while having to learn magic along the way. As much as Yuffie had grumbled and rolled her eyes about Quetzalcoatl, on the matter of bringing Kuzco she had shrugged and said,

"Look, it's up to him, right? We'll be fine on our own if we gotta be."

He supposed he could agree with the notion; Leon just didn't feel comfortable in possibly disturbing a kingdom that way.

Looking down at the crystal shard in his hands, the gunblader frowned and tried to think. What was it that Hades was planning? What could it be that Quetzalcoatl was being so cryptic about? What other temples could there be?

"Nngh... cheese... me no likey..." Kuzco sleepily mumbled, hugging a rather strange-looking plush doll. Leon wasn't even sure what it was supposed to be.

"Hey!" Yuffie leapt to her feet and bent down to peer at him. "You awake now?"

Rubbing his eyes, Kuzco squinted at her. "Sorrrrta. I'm kinda fuzzy on the details. What happened?"

"Quetzy zapped you. She said we gotta take you with us so you can open temples, summon stuff, and we can get our crystal things in return," Yuffie blurted out.

"YUFFIE!" Leon snapped.

"What! You were gonna get all TECHNICAL on him! I just saved him a really boring and lengthy explanation!"

Kuzco held up his hands. "Waitwaitwait; she said to take me out of here and to other worlds which MAY or may not include more Heartless things and therefore! Therefore, I'll probably be in danger and see and experience all kinds of weird stuff?"

"Well..." Leon glanced at Yuffie before looking back at the emperor. "I suppose that's the summary of it, yes."

"Great! When do we get to leave?"

The gunblader and ninja looked at each other before back to Kuzco. "You want to go?" Yuffie asked, confused.

Drawing imaginary circles on his bed, Kuzco almost appeared to be innocent, but his little grin burned all imagery of naivete. "I was going to ask after we got back, since I took you to the temple and all. C'mon, I'm all for making nice-nice with the rest of the kingdom and stuff, but I've been bored since the whole thing with Yzma and stuff."

"Kuzco, it's not all about fun and games; I'm working for the God of the Underworld. What part of that do I have to emphasize?" Leon told him firmly.

"Hey, I know that! And I'm not stupid. Let's just say I want to expand my horizons! Besides, if a little kid with a giant key can go hoppin' all over the place with a dog and a duck, then I don't really see why I can't go."

Leon folded his arms. "The part where you're an emperor and you have a country to run."

Kuzco rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. I've got a couple of trusty people that could sit with their thumbs up their butts and run this place probably wayyyy better than I could."

"Sounds like you've got your bases covered," Yuffie noted, grinning. "Hey, Leon! Cheer up; having a mage is a good thing."

"I just want him to realize that he could be in a lot of danger," Leon responded, frowning. "It's important that you know that, Kuzco."

"Say no more, say no more. I'll remember that," Kuzco assured.

---

deep dive
another side, another story
try again, in tri again
dive deep

---

It'd been the typical kind of questions as they travelled. Where are you from? What brings you here? How long are you staying? Most of them, Xigbar did his best to avoid and remain ambiguous. While Demyx looked eager for conversation, the gunman gave him a look to keep him quiet; he didn't like to deny the kid any chance of joy he might pretend to have, but he wasn't going to chance them into getting any trouble and lacking a halfway decent place to sleep for the night.

There were times as they walked that Demyx would turn his head, looking over his shoulder briefly. Of the both of them, Xigbar didn't expect the musician to be paranoid, yet he seemed distracted or worried about something.

"Hey; what's up, Squirt?" Xigbar had muttered to him, frowning faintly -- not that he was worried or anything.

Turning his head back to look at the Freeshooter, Demyx had smiled lightly, mostly abashedly. "I dunno. I keep thinking I'm hearing something. I think I'm just tired, you know?"

It had been a long, dready day of running from a dead realm and trying their hand at freedom and living. Much as Xigbar doubted their capabilty at it, he understood; he never felt so exhausted himself. He had managed a grin at Demyx, messing with the musician's hair; it was the best comfort he could offer at the time.

They continued on their way, walking through the quiet village in the evening. Just about everyone had already been inside their homes, but as they walked up the hill, a modest little house was set on the very top. Pacha continued leading the way up to the hut. Waiting by the entrance was a woman -- Pacha's wife, ChiCha, they learned -- who had greeted the villager pleasantly, and looked to the two Nobodies with concerned confusion.

It must be a balance, Xigbar figured; Pacha was far too kind and open, ChiCha was a little more skeptical and careful.

"Pacha, now, I'm not one to throw people in need out into the street at night or anything like that, but--" she began her debate.

"It's just one night, ChiCha; they need the help," Pacha responded; his voice was firm, but not angry, patiently arguing with his wife.

"Picking up random strangers in the forest just seems a little... off to me."

"I'd rather give them the benefit of the doubt than--"

Not to be impolite, but gradually, Demyx had just tuned out the two discussing on whether or not he and Xigbar would be able to stay. Maybe it was confidence, maybe he just wasn't terribly worried, but as they continued, he ignored them. His eyes glanced away, curiously back to the llama that was leading Pacha's cart. Under the tarp, he noticed something... glittering. Beside him, Xigbar sighed, annoyed, waiting for husband and wife to come to an agreement while Demyx edged towards the glittering object.

Somehow, it fascinated him. He wasn't entirely sure why, but it just... caught his attention. Reaching out, he picked it up, squinting curiously as he looked it over. It was an incredibly dark red stone, and yet somehow it seemed to almost spark with life -- he had never seen one quite like it before.

What was it people called it? A garter...? Ack, no. No. They called it a... damn, he didn't remember.

"All right, all right," ChiCha said loudly, sighing.

Demyx bolted upright, shoving his hands into his pockets, the gem inside with it. His face was beat red; taking the stone hadn't been his intention, but--

"Thanks," Pacha told her gratefully, grinning widely. "Hey, Xigbar. Demyx. Why don't you two go inside? I'm going to put all this away real quick."

Scratching the back of his head sheepishly, Demyx nodded. "S-sure. Uh." Damn, he didn't mean to do that, but he would have felt even more awkward putting the stone back now. He shuffled inside, Xigbar following him.

"Just be quiet, you two; I've got three kids finally asleep, and if they find out we have strangers for guests, no one will be getting any rest tonight," ChiCha warned the two of them, following them inside. "Well, make yourselves comfortable, I guess. You need anything to eat?"

Neither Nobodies could entirely blame her suspicions of two odd men not from her own world suddenly arriving to stay for a night, and yet the look in ChiCha's eyes were still maternal and maybe aggravated; even if they weren't particularly hungry -- which was odd, Xigbar noticed, why wasn't he hungry from all of their work and wanderings in a single day? -- she needed something to do with her hands.

"Something quick? It's late, y'know," Xigbar suggested.

Demyx smiled sheepishly to her. "Thanks."

---

Ultimately, there was little space to sleep, but Pacha seemed determined to make it work. In the end, they were on the floor with pillows and blankets for cushioning and just more blankets to keep out the cold of the night. It was still humid, but chilling, making it unusual sleeping circumstances for the most part.

As Demyx was dozing off, his hand was in his pocket again, curled around the deep red gem that he hadn't meant to take -- but he held it, tightly, and he slipped into a half-dream state.

It was odd. He was almost aware, listening rooms away of Pacha snoring and just some feet away the rhythm of Xigbar breathing, the wind blowing outside. Yet, he was disconnected, just that moment before true unconsciousness was achieved.

He could hear it.

"I'm tellin' ya, we have to stick to orders."

"Then you stay here. I don't need any boy scouts."

"What was that?"

He blinked, still drowsy, didn't want to move.

"You tell us to go, we go. Even if it is a losing battle."

"How sad... Act on my decision? That's our duty? Oh, what an easy life it must be, just to follow orders..."

Sad. Very sad. Not a very easy life, though. Demyx almost laughed softly, bitterly; who would think...?

"There's no way I'm lettin' go of that power!"

"Hey... Do you all remember - -?"

"- - was always wearin' black..."

"I have waited for this day to come. And also feared this day would come. Is today a joyous day? Or an odious day?"

"Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches."

There was a sharp noise, an echo, and it was hard not to recognize it in all of his time spent in the Organization, much more with his companionship with Xigbar; it was a gunshot and Demyx immediately sat up. He winced letting go of the stone in his pocket; it almost felt like it was burning, and in turn, his head throbbed. He turned his head, ready to say something, but Xigbar was already awake, scowling.

"You heard it?" Demyx wondered, frowning.

Xigbar nodded. "Not a person here who's got advanced equipment like a gun. Sounded like a handgun to me."

"So you think...?"

"We got another off-worlder here. And it's not gonna be Yuffie or Leon," Xigbar told him.

Scratching the back of his head, Demyx frowned in puzzlement. "How do you know--?"

"Don't ask dumb questions." Xigbar sighed and laid back down, turning over.

"Hey!" Demyx whispered sharply. "Don't you think... we should check it out?"

"No. I figure we should stick to our own business, because that's th' smart thing to do."

Wrinkling his nose, Demyx turned his head to look out the window, jerking a little in surprise when he heard a second gunshot soon to be followed by several. "Yeah, well... sorry, but I guess that makes me nosey," the musician mumbled, glancing at Xigbar before he stood up. "But I wanna go see." Pausing as he noticed Xigbar was stubbornly staying where he was, Demyx scowled and turned around. "...Fine. Suit yourself." He grinned faintly. "Then you stay here. Guess that makes you a boy scout!"

"Hey, whoa whoa!" Xigbar sat up again, glaring at the artist. "As if. Which one of us is the boy scout!"

"Xigbar's a boy scout, Xigbar's a boy scout!" Demyx teased, grinning wickedly.

"Damn it-- fine, we'll make it quick." Standing up, Xigbar dusted himself off before he growled under his breath, "I liked it better when you ran away at the first sign of danger."

"Guess I'm feeling adventurous! Don't worry, we'll come back if it looks too bad," Demyx assured him. "Especially if it's somebody Hades sent."

The pair were careful to exit the house, as to not disturb those trying to sleep -- likely, the gunshots woke them as well, but they would be far more confused than either Nobodies were. Down the path they followed, but Demyx paused a moment, frowning to listen. He didn't hear anything for awhile, and he glanced around, eyes glancing over the sky, noting silently to himself that it was a new moon, apparently; he only saw stars in the sky.

There was finally another gunshot, then the scream of something animalistic echoing over the hill.

"C'mon!" Xigbar growled to Demyx, motioning for him to follow.

They hurried over the damp grass, a herd of weary llamas parting for them; there was a clearing ahead, two figures lashing out at one another. One was hardly familiar, caught up in a tattered cloak of red and a mess of tangled black hair, but the other was unmistakable, even in lacking a cloak much like Xigbar and Demyx. Wild blue hair, yellow cat-like eyes, and a scar difficult to forget on the bridge of his nose, fighting the man in red with difficulty; at his shoulder, he was clearly bleeding from a bullet hole.

"How'd he get out?" Demyx frowned, trying to make sense of it.

"Nevermind him -- who the hell is that?" Xigbar muttered, glancing over the dark-haired stranger in the cloak.

Abruptly, the man turned around, pointing a handgun in the direction of Xigbar and Demyx. "There you are," the stranger muttered, his voice deep and smooth, yet stilted and professional.

"Me? Us? What?" Demyx pointed to himself, then at Xigbar before looking at the Freeshooter, confused. "Please stop pointing a gun at us?"

With a feral snarl, Saix leapt at the stranger, managing to tackle him to the ground and begin his attempts in trying to claw at him. It had suddenly occured to Demyx: Saix didn't have his claymore out.

The man in red lashed out, a rusted gauntlet with sharpened tips tearing at the beserker's chest; Saix was forced back, looking far more weary than he should have. It was night time. Didn't the moon make him more...?

New moon. Right.

Demyx tried to debate quickly what to do: run for it, because Saix had always been a gigantic bastard anyway, because the man in the cloak was pretty scary and threatening and looking for them and Hades probably sent him, or jump in like an idiot and help out Saix anyway. Like an idiot.

He decided to do things like an idiot.

Xigbar stammered and didn't get anything out of his mouth when Demyx was already running; the musician grabbed Saix by the wrist as he hurried between the cloaked man and the beserker, hauling Saix to his feet, and still running for cover, dragging the Luna Diviner with him. There were gunshots and Demyx gritted his teeth and ducked his head, though it would do him little good. He yanked Saix behind him, ducking behind a boulder.

"Don't touch me," Saix muttered furiously, pulling his hand back.

"You're totally welcome, by the way," Demyx told him in a bit of a huff. "Who the hell is that!"

"'Hell' is fitting for this occasion, but I don't have a name for you," Saix mumbled, narrowing his eyes and lowering his head as bullets chipped at the rock, dust and pieces flying.

It was inappropriate timing, but it allowed Demyx a better look at the beserker; without his Organization cloak on, Saix was wearing a navy blue sleeveless with a zipper on the front, the collar up midway to his neck; over the zipper and across the chest was a white cross design, and fitting him most of all was a gray fur on the shirt, right at his shoulders and back. Somehow, it seemed to suit his animal nature. Some blood was on the tips of his left shoulder, his chest still carrying angry slices from the strike the man in the cloak provided him with earlier.

Suddenly and snapping Demyx out of his brief observation, Xigbar teleported beside them with a bit of darkness still clinging to him. "Hi, what the fuck were you thinking, Squirt?"

"That I was doing a nice thing! Jeez!" Demyx grumbled.

"And why the hell isn't your claymore out if you're picking fights with a gnarly dude like that?" Xigbar demanded, turning his head to address Saix.

Scowling, Saix glared right back at him. "Idiot; have you tried summoning your weapons yet?"

Hearing the man in the cloak approaching, Demyx held out his hand to do just that; he did it as usual, summoning up a bubble of water -- but no sitar appeared to aid him. He did a doubletake, then looked at Xigbar, concerned. "Uhh..."

"The hell...?" The Freeshooter, held out his hands, but nothing happened either.

"I hope that answers your question somewhat," Saix snorted at the both of them. "Haven't you noticed how tired you are, ever since that traitor struck us down?"

"Roxas isn't a--" Demyx began, annoyed.

"Am I the only one who hasn't forgotten about the crazy man after us!" Xigbar snapped.

Empty shells dropped to the ground and the cloaked man approached, bracing a foot against the boulder the Nobodies were ducked behind. "Rise. My mission is not to cause you all to perish, but to return you to Hades. All of you."

"Perhaps that would have been a lot simpler if you hadn't attacked us in the Underworld," Saix hissed at him; he had resigned to the fact that he couldn't manuever nearly well enough to fight the man and stayed where he was sitting.

Demyx glanced at Xigbar helplessly; they weren't able to summon their weapons and were in no way trained nor capable of fighting unarmed. Even with manipulation of the elements, the best Xigbar could do would be to hang upside-down, and Demyx wasn't particularly any good at controlling the water without his sitar. They weren't willing to give up yet, but they didn't have much to fight back with.

"Too much hope is the opposite of despair. You should be careful to put too much faith in what you're doing," the man told them. "Come with me, or come with me while you bleed."

There was that heat in his pocket and it burned fiercely; Demyx winced and closed his eyes. Xigbar had opened his mouth to reply to the odd man in red, but he stopped, looking at the musician in concern.

"I, for one, refuse to return. I'd rather you shoot me again," Saix snarled at the cloaked stranger.

"There is no place for any of you here," the man told him, shaking his head, almost sorrowfully -- yet his tone of voice was devoid of any sense of compassion. "But I suppose that is your sin."

Slowly, but steadily, Demyx stood, pointing at the stranger. His eyes opened, still the same green color, yet the jade was more intense, some sort of sheen having come over it.

"The Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research, formerly thereof, Vincent Valentine." There was few moments that the musician had been anywhere nearly like this, frighteningly intinuitive and unforgiving, and Xigbar had only known it on rare occasions -- this, somehow, the most intense and he winced, not sure what to do. Demyx's voice was soft, firm, far more chilling than any winter stream. It was different, disconnected from the boy who pretended to have a heart, and that perhaps disturbed the Freeshooter.

The cloaked man -- Vincent -- stepped back, but his gun was quickly trained to Demyx. He remained silent, red eyes darting in confusion.

Demyx tilted his head, scowling. "And what's your sin? What do you think is the worst sin, Mister Valentine? Do you want to know what I think is the worst? It echoes in you, so disgustingly obvious -- I see that in you, in your dying heart. You, too, have betrayed. And that is why you suffer as you do."

Snapping out of his professionalism, Vincent let out a furious snarl, finger twitching to pull the trigger -- but before he even managed it, a burst of water knocked into him, sending him feet away, pouring blast after blast onto him, hammering into him. For awhile yet, Vincent wasn't going to get up.

Xigbar stayed silent, though Saix beside him was growling softly in some form of irritation, almost disgust. The Freeshooter smacked the uninjured shoulder of the beserker before standing up, looking at Demyx, puzzled. What was going on with him?

Turning around, Demyx looked at the sniper. "But then, we're all traitors here. Aren't we, Braig?"

Suddenly, he fell over, eyes shut and slipping into a deep sleep.

---

There hadn't been much of a choice, Xigbar decided. In spite of the odd scare, he wouldn't leave Demyx behind, but he was all too willing to abandon Vincent. As far as Saix went, the beserker growled in complaint, but the Freeshooter dragged him along at any rate; Demyx likely would have put up a fuss if he left Saix behind, or would have if the kid was awake. They made their return to Pacha's house, yet somehow managed to see that the villager and his family were left undisturbed or well enough. If they were awake, they weren't running around in panic.

Saix complained as he was bandaged and helped, pulling away the moment he had the strength to, curling up in a corner of the room. There wasn't much more Xigbar could do but allowed him to stay there.

Xigbar waited, watching Demyx sleep away, until he noticed a red glow in the musician's pocket. Scowling, the sniper reached inside, finding a hot stone -- and when he looked at it, was in a deep red. A garnet.

"Where the hell did you...?" Xigbar murmured, frowning.

"Nnh," Demyx mumbled, opening his eyes a little. "Wha...?"

"Less yourself and more your nothing, I see," Saix hissed from his corner.

"Unless you have anything useful to say, shut up," Xigbar snapped at him. "Demyx, what the hell was that?"

The musician frowned, then his eyes went wide open; he sat up abruptly. "I, uh-- what did--!" He held his head, dizzy, looking at Xigbar. "I didn't... I don't know...? H-hey, that's the, uh... the stone I, uh..."

"Yeah, about that. Where did you get this an' why's it glowin' funny?" Xigbar asked, pocketing it from the boy.

"I... I found it. You know. Sort of." Demyx ducked his head. "I just... I was looking at it, and I kind of... put it in my pocket. I think it's Pacha's. It was in his wagon thing. I don't really know what it is."

"It's a garnet." Xigbar shrugged. "But why's it--?"

"It's more than that," Saix muttered, leaning against the wall, his back still to the pair.

Xigbar raised a brow. "Oh, really? Mind elaborating, Saix?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I do. Though the likes of you shouldn't be touching such a--" Saix began.

"Hey! C'mon, I totally saved your butt twice tonight," Demyx complained. "What is it?"

There was a moment of silence, then the beserker growled, standing up slowly to turn and face them. "When a world is destroyed, not all beings fall to darkness -- but most of them do. There are times when a heart is strong enough, it was be retained in an orb. That is but a piece of a heart, essentially. A heart of something very special."

"And that something special is...?" Xigbar motioned for him to continue.

"I have my guesses, but I really couldn't tell you. Regardless, it reacted to Demyx, because of who he is -- or rather, was."

"And that's--" Xigbar started his next question, but Demyx cut him off.

"I don't wanna know!" Demyx bit his lip and lowered his head. "I don't wanna know anything else. Never mind, just... never mind. I'll give it back. I don't want it."

It was a nagging feeling, and Xigbar knew he was going to regret it. It wasn't a feeling like an emotion, but that instinctive desire to know, that same kind of instinct that got him stuck in this Heartless and Nobody business to begin with ten years ago. Unlike Demyx, he had the desire to know more about the kid and the stone. But he didn't ask.

He just kept the stone in his pocket.

"I'll take care of it," Xigbar assured him. "But in the morning, first thing, we oughta leave. That Vincent guy is gonna be chasing us."

Demyx nodded reluctantly. "I guess so, yeah. Hey, uh. Saix, what're you gonna do?"

"Fleeing is not a nature in myself that I prefer, but it's necessary. If you haven't noticed, our powers have not been the same since our deaths -- especially since we've left the Underworld. I have no conclusions, however; I am not the Nobody of a scientist here." Saix glanced to Xigbar. "But I prefer my freedom."

"Well, you know..." Demyx rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe you should come with us. Just for a little while. We'd be better off sticking together with Vincent coming after us, don't you think so?"

"And what makes you think I have any desire to travel with either one of you?" Saix raised a brow. "I would much rather not."

"'Cuz if you want your freedom, you kind of need to be alive for that, which means not in the Underworld. Look, I don't like you, and I'd really rather you didn't come with us, but we'd be better off," Xigbar confessed. And you know things we don't.

Saix narrowed his eyes, then glanced away, mumbling, "I will think about it."

---

"Back and forth, the waves go. Do you see it? Ah, but of course you do; your namesake. But you must understand, just how important the water really is, my dear. It is all things, it allows us to live and allows us to die. What comes from the sea must always go back, yes?"

He looked again into the aquamarine.

"But you must tell me, what do you think? Does the water really need anything else? Perhaps a sky for a border and the land to support, true... But what does that make the ocean waves?"

He wondered.

Kairi screamed, and somewhere in her mind, so did Namine.