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Not much to say this time around guys…Just kidding. I had a new and AMAZING story idea and it’s to blame for this late update. I REALLY am into this new one and am on the third chapter already but don’t want to release it until I get a bit closer to the end of this story (which should be wrapping up in another 5 or so chapters I’m thinking…maybe a bit longer, we’ll see) No details for now on the new story, and for now I hope you enjoy this one.
Chapter 16
Evolution and Execution
Something was wrong.
“Hey kid you okay?”
Without a word Demyx shoved Xigbar away and rushed from the shower, grabbing a robe and pulling it on as he fled the room. Soaking wet he ran into the hall, nearly slipping on the wooden floor but recovering and rushing to the guardrail around the opening in the center of the floor. It looked all the way down to the ground level and without stopping he leapt over the barrier and fell. He tied the bathrobe on his fall and landed next to a female cadet who practically jumped out of her skin. Ignoring the shocked stares of those around him he ran out the large entry doors and down the front steps. Strong winds chilled him to the bone and threatened to blow him off his feet but the weather couldn’t stop him as he rushed up to where his cousin stood at the foot of the stairs with his eyes up to the sky. He slowed to a stop next to Riku and looked skyward at the dark clouds, breathing quickly and stammering, “It…it can’t be.”
“He’s dead,” Riku said solemnly. Demyx collapsed to his knees, scraping them on the concrete but keeping his eyes up to the swirling sky. He could hear his cousin laughing but Demyx couldn’t even think about laughing right now. The king was dead, that was the only explanation for the sudden and overwhelming sensation sweeping over the world, “…How can you laugh!? Riku don’t you feel the change?! The guard is going to be scouring every corner of the world for you now and they won’t rest till they’ve dragged you back! We should’ve gone back earlier, now we’re going to be in serious trouble!”
“Good,” was all Riku said. He turned and left back up the stairs into the mansion, leaving Demyx alone. The fool kept his eyes skyward as the clouds grew even darker, threatening to drown out all natural light. He could feel the weight of thousands of people just like himself pouring into this world and it made him sick to his stomach. What would happen when they found him? Riku would remain unharmed simply because he was the one they were looking for, but Demyx on the other hand was merely the fool to the ex-king. He’d been brought into the royal family by marriage and ranked very low in every one of hells authority standards. He’d run away from hell too, something which normally wouldn’t be too big of a deal considering who he was, but he’d found the missing prince. He’d found Riku and didn’t bother reporting back to hell with his whereabouts, a treasonous act if ever there was one and he would certainly face the consequences.
“You felt it too?”
Demyx immediately looked back to normal level and saw before him the last person he expected to see here, “Zexion?” The duke stood only feet away from him in his usual sort of attire. Though his hair and clothes were being tossed around in the winds he remained rooted to the ground and staring down at him. At first Demyx looked shocked but that shock turned into a clear scowl, “What are you doing here?”
“I just came to make sure my two favorite cousins were paying attention,” Zexion said as he reached down to help Demyx up. Demyx got to his feet though and took a step backwards away from him. Zexion straightened back up and looked at him with a slight smile, “I see, that’s how you’re going to be then?”
“I suggest you leave now,” Demyx said in a very serious tone, his hands clenched tightly into fists at his side.
Zexion didn’t budge though and Demyx’s tone didn’t faze him, “You know they’ll kill you when they find out you’ve been with him this entire time. I can protect you from that…Come now Demyx, don’t be a fool.” Zexion reached out with one hand to take Demyx’s arm but Demyx immediately drew away and spat at his feet, “I am a fool, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to trust you again!”
Zexion lowered his hand and laughed a bit, “I see. You’re going to regret that pride of yours.”
“And you’ll regret more than that if you don’t leave right now.”
Zexion looked past Demyx who remained facing ahead with a scowl. Riku had come back outside and was at the top of the stairs watching him intently. Zexion bowed his head and stood up straight again with a slightly sinister smile, “Good to see you’re still in good health my king.”
“Your king is dead Zexion, and you should remember that means you don’t have that ‘diplomatic immunity’ anymore,” there was nothing to protect Zexion this time and Riku was already reaching inside his jacket for his gun.
Zexion raised his hands somewhat as a sign he meant no ill, “No need for that. I just came to make sure you two knew of the late king’s passing. Since that’s quite clear now I’ll take my leave. Take care Riku, and you too fool.” A warm air swept up a storm and Demyx covered his eyes, reopening them only to see the duke was gone. He kept his eyes locked on the spot where he stood, his fists still clenched tightly at his sides. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back at Riku who seemed very serious as opposed to the lighter and almost maniac air he held before Zexion arrived, “Don’t let him get under your skin.”
“Riku he’s right…When they come for you I’m dead,” he said as he looked back to where Zexion stood. The duke had a way of getting into people’s heads and finding out exactly which nerves to tweak. The sight of him had been bad enough but to have his fear said aloud only made Demyx realize he stood no chance of survival for his crime.
“I told you to go home ages ago,” Riku reminded him. There was a long silence in which Demyx accepted that this was all his fault and he deserved to die for how stupid he’d been. “I’ll protect you, don’t worry,” Riku’s words made Demyx’s heart leap and he turned quickly to face him.
“R-Riku you shouldn’t have to! It’s my own damn fault!” Demyx said quickly. His cousin shouldn’t have to protect him when he’d tried to send him away and prevent all this, “I should’ve listened to you…”
Riku shrugged and let go of his shoulder, “Just shut up. You’ve been a good cousin since you got here and I’d be a bad one if I just let them kill you to get to me.” Demyx didn’t know what to say and Riku just left him there as he turned and headed back into the mansion, “Get inside, you’ll catch a cold.”
Demyx seemed to suddenly realize he was standing outside soaking wet in a bathrobe. He could only imagine what people who’d seen him flee the mansion thought. He remembered how he’d left Xigbar in the shower and bit his lip uneasily. How would he explain his behavior to him? Xigbar always questioned his behavior and resented any sort of step out of line unlike…Zexion. Demyx swallowed hard and looked behind him once more where the duke stood moments ago. He couldn’t have been involved with two more different men but there was no second guessing who he was happier with. Forcing a smile he hurried back upstairs, hoping he could make it up to Xigbar in the shower.
How long had it been since he’s watched the sunrise? Usually he was still asleep at this hour but on this particular morning Roxas found himself up bright and early after a very restless sleep. The sky had been dark since yesterday afternoon but the sun, still not up far enough behind the dark clouds, was spreading a warm light over the island. Roxas glanced over to the empty half of the bed next to him still made neatly. Axel hadn’t been to bed in just over two days now and Roxas had begun to worry. Since the discovery of potential traitors within their society Axel had closely followed the interrogation of not only lab techs but also grunts. A total of four scientist and two grunts had been found as spies and Axel seemed obsessed with combing through every dog under his control in search of traitors. Though Roxas couldn’t blame him for being determined, he did think Axel needed to take a break. Knowing Axel though he was sure he wouldn’t stop till every dog in the mansion went through interrogation and every traitor found.
Heaving a slightly disheartened sigh he got out of bed and strolled out of the bedroom into the office. To his surprise he saw Axel sitting at his desk and his mouth tugged into a slight smile instantly, “Hey.”
Axel looked up only for a moment, seeming a bit surprised to hear a voice but looking back down at the folders before him when he realized who it was, “Morning.” Roxas only needed that brief moment of eye contact to see the dark marks under Axel’s eyes and instantly his smile fell. He watched silently as Axel combed through the files, making the occasional notes before shutting one and setting it aside. Roxas recognized the sort of folders he was noting and he felt his heart leap when Axel rose to his feet and went over to the large cabinet against the wall where all the dog files were kept. He unlocked the one marked M – O and Roxas held his breath. What would happen if he found out Riku’s file wasn’t there? Fortunately it seemed that he found the one he wanted and shut the drawer back after retrieving it.
Roxas felt guilty for keeping the fact he’d stolen it a secret but his fear of what Axel would do outweighed his guilt, “Axel please take a break. You need sleep.”
“How’s your eye?”
Roxas wished he’d listen to him but he couldn’t make the most powerful individual do anything and he doubted anyone could, “It’s feeling better,” he admitted. Since the torture in the lab his altered eye had been very sore and only this morning did his vision return to normal, “A little sore but I’m okay.”
“They were all killed,” Axel said suddenly, “The Al Bhed you met down in the lab. Seems someone found out we were looking for traitors and decided to silence the victims before we could question them.”
Roxas knew they wouldn’t have given Axel any answers even if they’d lived to face interrogation. Oddly enough he felt absolutely no remorse at the news which likely would’ve been a severe emotional blow only days ago. Part of him did regret their death but a greater part said, “I think death is a nice relief compared to what they went through.”
Axel paused and looked up at him for a minute and Roxas stared back. With the two-tone eyes Roxas looked even more like something fragile and unusual, something Axel had known all along. The scar under his eye was an indirect consequence of Axel’s own carelessness and even after it faded that blue eye would be his constant reminder. As soon as Roxas smiled at him though he looked back to the folder in his hand and sat down at his chair. He tried to focus on his work but when he heard Roxas’ feet shuffle across the floor and the door open he looked up quickly, “Where are you going?”
“To the kitchens. I thought you’d like some coffee,” Roxas replied, sounding surprised by the question and freezing instantly at the door. He expected to be reprimanded for foolishness but Axel just stared at him and drummed his fingers on the desk in an irritated fashion. Before Roxas could ask what was wrong Axel shut the folder and stood up, “Never mind that. Let’s go to bed.” And so Roxas shut the door and followed Axel back to the bedroom, shutting the curtains to block out the sunrise. If Axel wanted to sleep then Roxas would lie with him and make sure he slept, regardless of the time of day.
“It has just been confirmed that the first invasion of southern territory was a success! Cerberus troops tromped into an island near the divide known as Agrabah and within hours the sultan ruling over the island surrendered. We’ve received reports of minimal casualties among the dogs and the families will be notified shortly. Today marks a historic day and we should all be proud to reside under the Cerberus flag.”
The radio broadcast was distorted by static and Sora shut it off with a very disdainful look at the island. Minimal casualties. That could only be said for the Cerberus dogs as the people residing in Agrabah weren’t as fortunate. He saw Larxene pacing under a block of shade as she rambled away on the phone in her ever so important tone. Demyx was sitting on the hood of the car fanning himself with the mission folder and slumping forward. Sora remained seated in the passenger seat of the Jeep with his feet up on the dashboard, “Demyx can I see that?”
Without a word Demyx tossed the folder aside where it landed in the sand and spilled papers everywhere. Sora wasn’t surprised since it was no secret Demyx hated him now. In fact this entire trip had seemingly been one large excuse to put him in close proximity with the two people who liked him the least. He stepped out onto the sand and started to pick up the papers when he heard the sound of rustling fabric, looking up only to see Demyx shedding his jacket. For a moment Sora considered telling him how bad of an idea this was, but after the way Demyx had been treating him Sora resolved to simply let him handle what came next.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
By the time Larxene turned back to them Sora was back in the car paying no attention and Demyx was now on the hood without shirt or jacket. Demyx hated heat. It was pretty much safe to say he hated any temperature above 70 degrees and a place like Agrabah wasn’t made for him, “It’s hot,” he hissed, drenched in sweat and sounding as though he dared her to say something. For a moment Sora considered doing the same as Demyx, the thought of shedding a layer or two just too appealing.
Larxene finished her conversation quickly and shut the phone, “As a high ranking Cerberus member you have a duty and appearance to maintain regardless of the situation.”
“Screw that, it’s like a hundred degrees Larxene!” he was mad and the temperature wasn’t helping his temper, “Why can’t we just go inside or something? We’re not doing anything out here anyway!”
“We’re supervising like good lieutenants. Didn’t you read the mission?” she retorted quickly. Larxene crossed to the car and snatched the folder out of Sora’s hands before reading aloud: “Lieutenants Puck, Benvolio, and Capulet are to assist with and ensure the success of the Agrabah invasion. They are to remain on the island and supervise grunt work, including: body count (both sides), looting, and hostage negotiations if applicable.”
“We can supervise from the palace, or even the pool!” Demyx turned to face her and leaned forward dangerously.
Larxene didn’t back away though and instead took a step towards him, “And what sort of image would that send to our subordinates? Or even the enemy?”
“Hey! Come on both of you! If you want to send the right image Larxene then fighting with him isn’t doing it. And Demyx she’s right, we can’t be slacking off, it’s our job to uphold an image,” Sora stood up and leaned over the windshield between the two, “Larxene just let him go into that house for a while. He’s not used to this like we are.”
She looked mad but the heat of the day numbed any sort of worries Sora had about his actions. The fact neither of the two backed down apparently was enough to make her cave because she turned on heel and stormed off down the street, “Fine! Go rest like a whiny baby!”
“Real mature with the name calling!” Demyx shouted after her. He didn’t acknowledge Sora at all, instead grabbing his shed uniform and sliding off the hood. Demyx vanished into one of the vacant houses and Larxene continued down the street kicking up sand in her wake. This was ridiculous. Sora collapsed back into the passenger seat and grabbed a water bottle out from the cooler in the back. It was far too hot to be dealing with any of this and he wished he was back in the cold climate of China. As soon as he and Riku returned from their draft inspection Axel sent him right back out on another mission with his fellow lieutenants. Disdainfully he flipped the radio back on and reclined the seat so he was laying flat, the water bottle against his forehead in an attempt to cool down.
“I repeat! It has just been reported that a stealth unit has docked on the southern edge of Agrabah! Sightings of three dozen boats reported but not yet confirmed!” Sora sat bolt upright, the water bottle landing in his lap and his hand already on his gun. A stealth unit? The words digested just as a very loud and jarring explosion erupted only a block away. Sora ducked his head and climbed out of the Jeep quickly, Larxene halfway back to him already, “What’s-“
“Lion stealth unit, three dozen boats,” he told her quickly. Several panicked draft dogs were pouring into the street looking for instruction while trained and true Cerberus dogs rushed into action, working on the general order in a situation like this: find those behind the attack and stop them. Demyx came back out to join them but before he could get to the car gunfire nearby caused him to dive back inside. Sora looked around for the source but Larxene was much quicker and swiftly jumped onto the hood of the car and raised her gun to fire. Three uniformed Nemean Lions fell from the rooftop and Sora hurried over to make sure they were all dead, putting a bullet through the head of one survivor.
“Don’t just stand there idiots! Go! Shoot any cat you see!” Larxene shouted as she looked around the rooftops for other units. Gunfire rang loudly across the island and it was clear the drafted dogs were scared. She turned on them though and pointed her gun into the crowd of six, “I said go!” Immediately they took up arms and rushed off to do as they were ordered.
Demyx came back out of the house again with his head ducked and gun out, “What the hells going on?!”
“The damn sultan must’ve sent out an SOS, we’ve got cats on the island,” Larxene jumped down off the hood and was now joining Sora at the trunk where they stored extra ammunition. Demyx just stood there for a moment, a clear look of panic on his face, “Like the enemy?”
“Yes Demyx, it is the enemy! Come on get loaded up and moving, kill anyone you see in that uniform,” Sora said with a short nod to the three corpses on the ground. He had a satchel of ammunition he slung over his shoulder and he turned to Larxene to ask, “How should we divide this up?”
Larxene had a satchel of her own and holstered her handgun, grabbing a larger one from the trunk and slinging it over her shoulder, “They’re on the southern border. We’re about thirty yards from the northern border so if we each take a vertical third we can just sweep straight south and catch them all.” Another explosion shook the island, this time much closer and sand and rubble flew through the air, “Load up and go! We’ll meet at the southern edge!” Sora and Larxene rushed off in opposite directions but Demyx just backed into the house again and shut the door. His heart was racing and he cringed at the sound of another explosion over the noise of continued gunfire. This was insane. He never signed up for heavy fire, bombs, or any sort of resistance. What happened to just following Xigbar around the society? To stay here was to die, but to run into the fire like the other two had was sheer suicide.
Cautiously he looked around the corner through the window. The street outside was filled with smoke and a mess of sand was still raining down. There was a glimmer of hope though and Demyx eyed the vehicle still parked out front warily. He could take that back to the northern beach where their helicopter landed earlier that day. With that glimmer of hope he opened the door and rushed back into the street, leaping over the door into the car and landing right in the driver’s seat. The keys were still in the ignition and he jolted the motor to life quickly before flooring it.
“A stealth unit? How bold of them,” Luxord commented from the safety and security of the third captain office on the fourth floor.
Xigbar sat in a chair across from him casually, “You should’ve seen how mad Axel was. I don’t think he ever expected direct resistance from the Lions this early on.”
“None of us were, but at least now we know they’re very serious about keeping us out of their territory. Can you even imagine what would happen if we were to lose to them on the first encounter?” Luxord leaned back in his chair and pondered it over. His office, like the other two captains, was about half the size of Axel’s. While Axel’s was furnished with luxuries, foreign artifacts, and elaborate Cerberus histories; Luxord’s walls were lined with numerous bookshelves packed full. Maps and old newspapers were framed and mounted on the walls, detailing historic encounters and events and practically reeking of knowledge. The back wall of windows looked over the eastern half of the island, which always meant for a beautiful sunrise.
Xigbar laughed a bit in his throat, “If we lose, I think Axel’s anger would save us a lot of effort.”
Luxord looked up from the mug of coffee in his hand and back at Xigbar, “You’re still very set on that plan of yours?”
A rather sinister grin spread across his face as he informed him, “Yeah. I think I’ve almost got enough. What with the latest turn of events: war, taking two fugitive vampires into our ranks and Roxas, it’s going to be too easy…Axel’s unfit to run this place. He never should have been given that authority in the first place.”
“And you’re so sure you know better than the king who gave it to him?” A bemused look toyed across Luxord’s face but he hid it by taking a drink from his cup. Xigbar’s brazen behavior was almost laughable but Luxord had no intention of interfering with the show.
“That kook is dead and so is the Hades project,” Xigbar insisted, “He was never in his right mind and you should’ve seen the outrage when it was announce he was putting Axel in charge.”
“I wish I had,” to say Luxord disapproved was a lie, but then again so was to say he supported Xigbar in his decision, “Project Hades. I got dragged into the tail end of it but it’s odd that so few people in the society know about it.”
“It’s better the less people know,” was all Xigbar told him. Project Hades was the original society from which the Nemean Lions and Cerberus derived from five years ago. It was established twenty years ago this year and Xigbar had been one of the first members. The project was a secret society responsible for events such as the initiation and completion all three world wars, sectioning of ruler jurisdiction prior to the division into the northern and southern hemispheres, the Al Bhed holocaust, the Y2K massacre and bombings, and countless other historic events. Put simply: the project ran the world, “Those were the good days though.”
“One has to wonder how your own nephew won a title which, by rank and experience, belonged to you,” Luxord commented with a slight tone of mockery.
Xigbar scowled and quickly insisted, “If I’d known that then I’d have drowned him when he was a kid.”
Luxord saw Xigbar’s fists clench and he couldn’t help but smirk, “Temper temper,” he slurred before taking another sip of coffee. He heard Xigbar rise from his chair and shortly thereafter heard the door to his office open and shut. Luxord lowered his glass and looked around the empty room for a moment, seemingly pondering the world around him. Two years prior to the establishment of the Cerberus society he worked himself into some debt with the deceased king of hell, also known as the founder of project Hades. Essentially he sold his soul in exchange for eternal luck, only to turn around try and use that luck to win his soul back. It was a foolish idea which failed and earned him an eternal sentence of damnation he would serve out under the king’s authority. With his eternal luck though and natural ability he was able to move up quickly in the project over it’s last two years before being transferred to a captain position in the Cerberus society. Luxord had no family to speak of and no life outside of what he’d earned the last seven years but that didn’t affect his opinion on Xigbar or Axel’s behavior. Xigbar wanted to run the society. Axel would never surrender his authority. All this meant to Luxord was he would have a very interesting show.
Casually he set down the empty mug and reached for his phone, turning his chair so it faced the windows facing out over the island. He wasn’t going to interfere with the show, he would simply ensure it made for good entertainment.
“The tracks go this way…” Sora’s voice trailed off as his eyes followed the tire marks in the sand around the corner. He heard Larxene curse and kick something, likely a wall. She had every right to be angry and if Sora wasn’t so tired he’d probably be just as mad. The two had spent the last three hours scouring the island with the rest of the Cerberus dogs, killing every Lion they saw and then blowing up their boats and vehicles. Twenty-nine dogs had been killed and over forty injured in the surprise attack but in the end they were victorious. Upon returning to the meeting grounds though, leading dogs in all conditions, they found that one dog had run with his tail between his legs.
“Fucking coward! I’ll see to it he pays,” Larxene’s shout made several of the dogs behind them flinch. Larxene had been wounded in an explosion in which a piece of stray rubble caught her in the back, tearing her uniform and leaving a rather large tear visible in her flesh. If she was this angry injured one could only imagine how she’d behave unhindered.
Sora had managed to avoid being harmed and he followed the tracks down around the corner only to see they continued through the city, “I’ll go find him.”
“I’m going too,” Larxene insisted. Sora wouldn’t try to convince her otherwise since she sounded just as determined as she looked, “You lot stay here, we’ll be back shortly. Stay on your guard!” With her final order delivered she and Sora set off down the sandy path in silence. Their silence lasted all the way down the path and continued down another street until another turn showed them something unexpected. About halfway down the street it looked as though a bomb had gone off, destroying everything within a ten foot radius. Sora could almost see how it had played out. Demyx was driving away from the battle. A bomb went off in the street and he swerved. The Jeep was flipped. The vehicle was totaled and in a similar charred state of ruin the rest of the street resided in. Sora just stared at the limp figure hanging half out of the driver’s side, bloodied from head down and limbs twisted in a broken fashion.
“…Serves him right,” Larxene said in an unfazed tone.
Her words seemed to remind Sora he was in a very real setting. This was a battleground and Demyx got caught up in something he hadn’t bargained for. Sora ran over to the overturned vehicle and dove down next to Demyx’s body. His eyes were shut, his mouth agape, and body motionless. Sora had to swallow hard when he told himself the obvious truth, “…Demyx?”
To both his and Larxene’s horror the motionless body lunged straight up and grabbed onto Sora’s shoulders, instantly biting hard into his throat. Sora howled in agony. He tried to shove Demyx away but the fool just held on and bit harder with his teeth before shoving him down in the sand. There was absolutely no mercy in his grip and Sora soon felt as though death would be a happy escape from the vice grip pain. Never had Riku’s bites been like this and he’d gladly trade his current situation for any form of torture. Sora could hear Demyx drinking through hasty and painful breaths. He tightened his grip on Sora’s throat and as much as Sora wanted to scream he couldn’t seem to. Larxene suddenly appeared in the view skyward Sora had from the ground. She was holding a gun right against Demyx’s head, “Don’t shoot!” Sora shouted. Larxene looked shocked and Sora couldn’t bring himself to explain. Demyx had been injured and lost a lot of blood. It wasn’t his fault and Sora would let him sate his bloodlust until it absolutely put his life in jeopardy. Larxene just watched and Sora shut his eyes as Demyx readjusted and tightened his bite.
~Your loving bohemian, Mad-TopHat-Ter
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