Categories > Games > Kingdom Hearts > Facade
The door opened slowly and shut just as softly, the slightly creaking hinges had no effect on the girl and she continued to sleep. A bird that was resting on the windowsill flew away quickly to hide from the new stranger. Marluxia smirked at the girl's sleeping form on the bed. So innocent, he mused. He crawled over her onto the bed, placing on hand and knee on either side of her. He bent down then and whispered softly into her ear.
"Good morning, my little angel," he smirked and brushed his lips against her ear. "It's time to wake up now." Naminé's eyes shot open upon hearing his voice. A voice that had haunted her dreams for the past year. She tried to scream, but his hand shot out the second she opened her mouth, stifling her cries for help. "Hush now. No reason to scream. I won't bite you this time."
She gave up on screaming and occupied herself with covering her nude body as he took his hand away from her mouth. She was scared. Scared by his mere presence. She stared at him in fear as he spoke once more.
"It's certainly lovely to see you, my pet," he said, grinning almost manically. "Now, I realize that you must be very upset with me because of certain events beyond our control, but I hope we can put those little details behind us for now. I would like us to be able to cooperate without any hassle, hm? As I see it, we're all in danger because of a few certain senior members of the Organization. You can choose to trust me or wander around by yourself and possibly be killed for disobeying them. It's your choice, my dear."
Naminé hesitated, her fear for him quite evident in her eyes. His dark blue eyes locked onto hers, waiting ever so patiently for her response. She didn't want to trust him, and he knew that. Nevertheless, she nodded, causing his smirk to widen.
"O-okay..." she said meekly. She hated how weak she sounded whenever he was near. It made her feel so unprotected.
"I knew my little flower would come through for me," he stated. He leaned down and placed a feather light kiss atop her forehead. He grinned and then crawled back off of the bed to return to the others. She sat up as he stood and headed to the door, still holding the covers over her chest.
"I... did you...?"
"I didn't touch your clothes," he told her, stopping in the doorway and tilting his head back to look at her. "You were like that when I entered the room." She frowned deeply at that, not sure if she should believe him or not.
He took note of her expression and sighed, turning back around and moving to sit down next to her on the bed. If she wasn't going to believe him, he would just have to explain things to her.
"I suppose there's no gentle way for me to put this. You turn into an animal at night," he explained, running a hand through his hair. "That being said, animals can't wear clothes, so you simply fell out of them." Naminé's frown deepened and she looked down at the blanket. "Now, kindly get yourself dressed and be downstairs in five minutes. Otherwise, I'm coming up to drag you down, clothed or not." She nodded and he stood to leave. It was then that she spoke once more.
"Okay... but... if I do go with you," she paused for a second and glanced up at him. "If I go with you, you have to help me find Roxas," she finally stated, her expression set. He stopped dead in the doorway and whirled around to glare at her.
"What?" he demanded.
"I... I... you have to help me find Roxas," she said, more firmly this time. Her expression wavered for just a moment, but a second later it was back. For that brief moment, she thought he would kill her. Instead, he pulled the door open and left the room. She knew then, that was the closest to a yes that she would ever get.
Naminé smiled slightly to herself and changed back into her dress. She made sure she smoothed out the wrinkles before slipping her shoes back on as well. She then pulled open the door and headed downstairs to spot Marluxia with Larxene. Neither of them noticed as the younger girl approached.
"That hag is getting nosy," Larxene was telling him. "She's started to ask stupid questions, like where did the horse and fox go since last night? Why are there two extra men? Things like that. It's getting annoying."
"Not to mention dangerous. We can't have her talking about any of this," Marluxia agree, putting a finger to his chin in thought. "That will lead the others right to us. I'll have to take care of this."
"No!" Naminé exclaimed. She hurled herself at Marluxia and threw her arms around his waist to stop him. Larxene glared at her, but Naminé paid no attention to her. "You can't! She was kind to me and to you all too! Don't hurt her." Marluxia said nothing and simply peeled the girl off of him and shoved her at Larxene, who held her in place. He then turned and went into the next room where the woman was.
"Ma'am?" he asked.
"Would you care to explain the extra guests and the lack of animals in my home?" she demanded. To anybody else, the question would have almost seemed comical, but Marluxia simply lifted a hand.
"Now, now," he frowned at her. "What makes you think I can explain this? I'm a simple traveler, after all."
"B-but... your horse... there was a man..." Marluxia placed a finger to her lips gently to silence her.
"Shh," he coaxed her. "Let's just forget about this and say that the world is just full of surprises. Okay?" He waved his hand and produced a single rose from thin air. He put it to his nose to smell it before handing it graciously to her. The woman blushed and took the flower, her eyes widening.
"I... are you...?"
"I am a simple traveler, ma'am," he repeated, grinning. "Good day. Thank you kindly for your hospitality." He turned and head back out of the room toward Naminé and Larxene. "Happy?" he asked Naminé, who flushed slightly and nodded.
"Erm... y'all can come back any time!" she called. Marluxia turned and flashed her a charming smile before ushering the two females outside to meet Axel and Luxord. The former didn't have much of a reaction to seeing Naminé, but Luxord frowned deeply.
"Another traitor," he grumbled. Somehow, he had a deck of cards in his hand and he was flipping through them lazily.
"You're not exactly their favorite anymore either," Larxene snapped. Naminé had to wonder if Larxene was actually sticking up for her, but then decided that she couldn't be. It was Larxene after all. Naminé decided that, with this crowd, it was best to stay close to Marluxia. She stood close behind him, frowning slightly.
"Where are we" she asked him. He glanced down at her, though surprised to see her so close. He sighed softly and placed a hand on her head.
"Eterra," he stated simply. "It's a special world, I suppose you could say. We can't leave it by gummi. The people here have never even heard of a gummi ship."
"Why are we here?" she asked, glancing around and taking in the scenery.
"I guess it's where we go when we die," he said, running a hand through his hair. He looked at Larxene, hoping for help, but she just grinned and waved him on.
"But... I didn't die," she protested. "I merged with Kairi, my other. I'm not dead..."
"It doesn't matter," he said, growing not only irritated but as confused as she seemed to be. "We've talked about this before." Naminé looked down as he went on. "If you merge with your other that's wonderful for them, but the Nobody dies. That means you, my dear, are as dead as the rest of us."
"Oh..." she frowned, still staring down at the ground as Marluxia coaxed her into walking with them now. "Where's Roxas?"
"If I knew where he was, do you think we'd be looking for him?" Marluxia asked, rolling his eyes. Axel imitated his actions, rolling his eyes and groaning inwardly.
"I know she's still got this Marluxia hero-worship," Axel muttered to Larxene. "But even she's got to know he's far from any kind of miracle worker."
"She's pathetic," Larxene snapped, clearly annoyed. "Look at her hanging all over him. Disgusting..."
"If he's really going to let her cling to him, it's his deal," Axel shrugged. He didn't really care about that so much.
"Larxene, Axel," Marluxia turned back to them to catch their attention. "We're going to head back to where we began."
"Where you picked me up?" Axel asked, cocking an eyebrow. Marluxia frowned at him and nodded as if it were obvious before turning around and leading them back there.
Zexion was quite far east. In fact, he was about a mile from the shrine. However, the village he was in looked far from what he'd expect from the holy city. Each building was still smoldering from the recent wildfire. Very few people were actually there, but those who were took to staring at the newcomer, possibly because he was much cleaner than any of them there. Zexion paid them no mind and focused on following his nose. It was then that he heard music from somewhere nearby. Of course... Zexion smirked slightly and approached the Melodious Nocturne silently, waiting for him to finish his song.
It was beautiful music, there was no doubt about that, but Zexion didn't care about that. He needed the young Nobody creating the music. Once Demyx hit the final chord, Zexion reached out and placed his hands gently on Demyx's shoulders.
"That was beautiful," he said softly. "You've always had such amazing talent, if I do say so myself." Demyx nearly jumped out of his skin and glanced back at the hands on his shoulders.
"No, wait... you're dead!" Demyx exclaimed. Zexion had to resist the powerful urge to roll his eyes.
"As are you," he told him. "But there's no reason to be alone and afraid in death. I'm here for you."
"Huh? No, you're wrong," Demyx told him. "I'm not dead. I think I'd remember something like that." He laughed a little, though it was shaky, nervous.
"And what exactly do you remember?"
"I... um... remember fighting the kid with the Keyblade and..." Demyx frowned for a moment, thinking before his eyes shot open. "No way!"
"I'm afraid so," Zexion answered him. "But now we can be together. Just the two of us. I even have a place for us to stay." Zexion kept a firm grip on the other's shoulders, leaning down further to speak softly into his ear. "I can show you what it's like to have a heart."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Demyx seemed interested then, albeit scared. Hook, line, and sinker. Zexion smirked to himself.
"Come with me. I can show you what it's like... and I can get you one. All you have to do is trust me." Zexion trailed his hands down Demyx's arms, then finally released him so that the younger Nobody could turn to face him. Demyx studied him closely, trying to determine if it as really him.
"I... okay..." Demyx said, staring into his eyes, as if searching for the truth in them. "Take me with you..." Zexion reached out his hand to take Demyx's, but suddenly there was a weapon flying at his face. Zexion's eyes widened for a second before moving out of the way of danger, frowning deeply. Marluxia? Damn. Zexion was not fit to face him at the moment. He had no means to fight him. Demyx, on the other hand... Zexion backed away to hide from both Demyx and his attacker, hoping the other wouldn't immediately turn Demyx against him.
"Roxas!" Demyx exclaimed.
Zexion cursed his luck, frowning deeply at the sight. Roxas had always been far too close to Axel. That was undoubtedly why he attacked him. All he had to do was come up with a good plan on the spot.
"May I be of assistance?" a voice behind him asked. Zexion whipped around to face somebody who he actually did want to see-Xaldin. Finally someone who he could trust without manipulating him-all that much anyway.
"Why did you do that?" Demyx asked Roxas, frowning, looking around for where Zexion could have gone to. "He was going to..."
"I heard what he promised you," Roxas told him, also glancing around for Zexion, but for a different reason entirely. "He can't make you empty promises like that. He's the most heartless out of all of us. He probably doesn't even remember what it's like to have a heart." Demyx frowned as Roxas spoke.
"Hey... why'd you betray us?" he asked, changing the subject.
"That doesn't matter," Roxas said, grabbing the other's arm. "We need to find Axel and Naminé." Demyx nodded, but glanced back in Zexion's direction.
"Okay, if you say so!" Roxas dragged him away from the burned village, leaving Zexion and Xaldin hiding in the bushes.
"Has he also turned his back on the Organization?" Xaldin asked, frowning deeply as he emerged from hiding.
"I'm afraid so," Zexion sighed softly. "We must find the others who are still faithful to the Superior."
It was good to have more members now, but Saïx never was what Lexaeus considered to be good company. Xigbar, though slightly insane, was much more pleasant to talk to. Vexen, however, insisted that they all be together to discuss quite a few very important matters. What those matters were remained to be found out.
"Zexion should rejoin us within the next twenty-four hourse," Vexen explained. "As you all know now, Luxord has seemingly abandoned the Organization. We can not let that happen with the other members. We must find them first and rid the world of those traitors!"
"Who is there left to find?" Saïx inquired.
"As I see it," Lexaeus interjected. "Xaldin, Demyx, Roxas, Naminé, and the Superior."
"We must not lose any of them to betrayal," Vexen stated loudly, getting everybody to focus on him once more. "We must fight back! Agreed?"
"Yeah, yeah," Xigbar said, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the table. "What're we going to do with the traitors once we find them?" Vexen smirked then, clearly amused.
"A very good question there," he told him. "Eliminate them. By any means necessary."
END CHAPTER FOUR
"Good morning, my little angel," he smirked and brushed his lips against her ear. "It's time to wake up now." Naminé's eyes shot open upon hearing his voice. A voice that had haunted her dreams for the past year. She tried to scream, but his hand shot out the second she opened her mouth, stifling her cries for help. "Hush now. No reason to scream. I won't bite you this time."
She gave up on screaming and occupied herself with covering her nude body as he took his hand away from her mouth. She was scared. Scared by his mere presence. She stared at him in fear as he spoke once more.
"It's certainly lovely to see you, my pet," he said, grinning almost manically. "Now, I realize that you must be very upset with me because of certain events beyond our control, but I hope we can put those little details behind us for now. I would like us to be able to cooperate without any hassle, hm? As I see it, we're all in danger because of a few certain senior members of the Organization. You can choose to trust me or wander around by yourself and possibly be killed for disobeying them. It's your choice, my dear."
Naminé hesitated, her fear for him quite evident in her eyes. His dark blue eyes locked onto hers, waiting ever so patiently for her response. She didn't want to trust him, and he knew that. Nevertheless, she nodded, causing his smirk to widen.
"O-okay..." she said meekly. She hated how weak she sounded whenever he was near. It made her feel so unprotected.
"I knew my little flower would come through for me," he stated. He leaned down and placed a feather light kiss atop her forehead. He grinned and then crawled back off of the bed to return to the others. She sat up as he stood and headed to the door, still holding the covers over her chest.
"I... did you...?"
"I didn't touch your clothes," he told her, stopping in the doorway and tilting his head back to look at her. "You were like that when I entered the room." She frowned deeply at that, not sure if she should believe him or not.
He took note of her expression and sighed, turning back around and moving to sit down next to her on the bed. If she wasn't going to believe him, he would just have to explain things to her.
"I suppose there's no gentle way for me to put this. You turn into an animal at night," he explained, running a hand through his hair. "That being said, animals can't wear clothes, so you simply fell out of them." Naminé's frown deepened and she looked down at the blanket. "Now, kindly get yourself dressed and be downstairs in five minutes. Otherwise, I'm coming up to drag you down, clothed or not." She nodded and he stood to leave. It was then that she spoke once more.
"Okay... but... if I do go with you," she paused for a second and glanced up at him. "If I go with you, you have to help me find Roxas," she finally stated, her expression set. He stopped dead in the doorway and whirled around to glare at her.
"What?" he demanded.
"I... I... you have to help me find Roxas," she said, more firmly this time. Her expression wavered for just a moment, but a second later it was back. For that brief moment, she thought he would kill her. Instead, he pulled the door open and left the room. She knew then, that was the closest to a yes that she would ever get.
Naminé smiled slightly to herself and changed back into her dress. She made sure she smoothed out the wrinkles before slipping her shoes back on as well. She then pulled open the door and headed downstairs to spot Marluxia with Larxene. Neither of them noticed as the younger girl approached.
"That hag is getting nosy," Larxene was telling him. "She's started to ask stupid questions, like where did the horse and fox go since last night? Why are there two extra men? Things like that. It's getting annoying."
"Not to mention dangerous. We can't have her talking about any of this," Marluxia agree, putting a finger to his chin in thought. "That will lead the others right to us. I'll have to take care of this."
"No!" Naminé exclaimed. She hurled herself at Marluxia and threw her arms around his waist to stop him. Larxene glared at her, but Naminé paid no attention to her. "You can't! She was kind to me and to you all too! Don't hurt her." Marluxia said nothing and simply peeled the girl off of him and shoved her at Larxene, who held her in place. He then turned and went into the next room where the woman was.
"Ma'am?" he asked.
"Would you care to explain the extra guests and the lack of animals in my home?" she demanded. To anybody else, the question would have almost seemed comical, but Marluxia simply lifted a hand.
"Now, now," he frowned at her. "What makes you think I can explain this? I'm a simple traveler, after all."
"B-but... your horse... there was a man..." Marluxia placed a finger to her lips gently to silence her.
"Shh," he coaxed her. "Let's just forget about this and say that the world is just full of surprises. Okay?" He waved his hand and produced a single rose from thin air. He put it to his nose to smell it before handing it graciously to her. The woman blushed and took the flower, her eyes widening.
"I... are you...?"
"I am a simple traveler, ma'am," he repeated, grinning. "Good day. Thank you kindly for your hospitality." He turned and head back out of the room toward Naminé and Larxene. "Happy?" he asked Naminé, who flushed slightly and nodded.
"Erm... y'all can come back any time!" she called. Marluxia turned and flashed her a charming smile before ushering the two females outside to meet Axel and Luxord. The former didn't have much of a reaction to seeing Naminé, but Luxord frowned deeply.
"Another traitor," he grumbled. Somehow, he had a deck of cards in his hand and he was flipping through them lazily.
"You're not exactly their favorite anymore either," Larxene snapped. Naminé had to wonder if Larxene was actually sticking up for her, but then decided that she couldn't be. It was Larxene after all. Naminé decided that, with this crowd, it was best to stay close to Marluxia. She stood close behind him, frowning slightly.
"Where are we" she asked him. He glanced down at her, though surprised to see her so close. He sighed softly and placed a hand on her head.
"Eterra," he stated simply. "It's a special world, I suppose you could say. We can't leave it by gummi. The people here have never even heard of a gummi ship."
"Why are we here?" she asked, glancing around and taking in the scenery.
"I guess it's where we go when we die," he said, running a hand through his hair. He looked at Larxene, hoping for help, but she just grinned and waved him on.
"But... I didn't die," she protested. "I merged with Kairi, my other. I'm not dead..."
"It doesn't matter," he said, growing not only irritated but as confused as she seemed to be. "We've talked about this before." Naminé looked down as he went on. "If you merge with your other that's wonderful for them, but the Nobody dies. That means you, my dear, are as dead as the rest of us."
"Oh..." she frowned, still staring down at the ground as Marluxia coaxed her into walking with them now. "Where's Roxas?"
"If I knew where he was, do you think we'd be looking for him?" Marluxia asked, rolling his eyes. Axel imitated his actions, rolling his eyes and groaning inwardly.
"I know she's still got this Marluxia hero-worship," Axel muttered to Larxene. "But even she's got to know he's far from any kind of miracle worker."
"She's pathetic," Larxene snapped, clearly annoyed. "Look at her hanging all over him. Disgusting..."
"If he's really going to let her cling to him, it's his deal," Axel shrugged. He didn't really care about that so much.
"Larxene, Axel," Marluxia turned back to them to catch their attention. "We're going to head back to where we began."
"Where you picked me up?" Axel asked, cocking an eyebrow. Marluxia frowned at him and nodded as if it were obvious before turning around and leading them back there.
Zexion was quite far east. In fact, he was about a mile from the shrine. However, the village he was in looked far from what he'd expect from the holy city. Each building was still smoldering from the recent wildfire. Very few people were actually there, but those who were took to staring at the newcomer, possibly because he was much cleaner than any of them there. Zexion paid them no mind and focused on following his nose. It was then that he heard music from somewhere nearby. Of course... Zexion smirked slightly and approached the Melodious Nocturne silently, waiting for him to finish his song.
It was beautiful music, there was no doubt about that, but Zexion didn't care about that. He needed the young Nobody creating the music. Once Demyx hit the final chord, Zexion reached out and placed his hands gently on Demyx's shoulders.
"That was beautiful," he said softly. "You've always had such amazing talent, if I do say so myself." Demyx nearly jumped out of his skin and glanced back at the hands on his shoulders.
"No, wait... you're dead!" Demyx exclaimed. Zexion had to resist the powerful urge to roll his eyes.
"As are you," he told him. "But there's no reason to be alone and afraid in death. I'm here for you."
"Huh? No, you're wrong," Demyx told him. "I'm not dead. I think I'd remember something like that." He laughed a little, though it was shaky, nervous.
"And what exactly do you remember?"
"I... um... remember fighting the kid with the Keyblade and..." Demyx frowned for a moment, thinking before his eyes shot open. "No way!"
"I'm afraid so," Zexion answered him. "But now we can be together. Just the two of us. I even have a place for us to stay." Zexion kept a firm grip on the other's shoulders, leaning down further to speak softly into his ear. "I can show you what it's like to have a heart."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Demyx seemed interested then, albeit scared. Hook, line, and sinker. Zexion smirked to himself.
"Come with me. I can show you what it's like... and I can get you one. All you have to do is trust me." Zexion trailed his hands down Demyx's arms, then finally released him so that the younger Nobody could turn to face him. Demyx studied him closely, trying to determine if it as really him.
"I... okay..." Demyx said, staring into his eyes, as if searching for the truth in them. "Take me with you..." Zexion reached out his hand to take Demyx's, but suddenly there was a weapon flying at his face. Zexion's eyes widened for a second before moving out of the way of danger, frowning deeply. Marluxia? Damn. Zexion was not fit to face him at the moment. He had no means to fight him. Demyx, on the other hand... Zexion backed away to hide from both Demyx and his attacker, hoping the other wouldn't immediately turn Demyx against him.
"Roxas!" Demyx exclaimed.
Zexion cursed his luck, frowning deeply at the sight. Roxas had always been far too close to Axel. That was undoubtedly why he attacked him. All he had to do was come up with a good plan on the spot.
"May I be of assistance?" a voice behind him asked. Zexion whipped around to face somebody who he actually did want to see-Xaldin. Finally someone who he could trust without manipulating him-all that much anyway.
"Why did you do that?" Demyx asked Roxas, frowning, looking around for where Zexion could have gone to. "He was going to..."
"I heard what he promised you," Roxas told him, also glancing around for Zexion, but for a different reason entirely. "He can't make you empty promises like that. He's the most heartless out of all of us. He probably doesn't even remember what it's like to have a heart." Demyx frowned as Roxas spoke.
"Hey... why'd you betray us?" he asked, changing the subject.
"That doesn't matter," Roxas said, grabbing the other's arm. "We need to find Axel and Naminé." Demyx nodded, but glanced back in Zexion's direction.
"Okay, if you say so!" Roxas dragged him away from the burned village, leaving Zexion and Xaldin hiding in the bushes.
"Has he also turned his back on the Organization?" Xaldin asked, frowning deeply as he emerged from hiding.
"I'm afraid so," Zexion sighed softly. "We must find the others who are still faithful to the Superior."
It was good to have more members now, but Saïx never was what Lexaeus considered to be good company. Xigbar, though slightly insane, was much more pleasant to talk to. Vexen, however, insisted that they all be together to discuss quite a few very important matters. What those matters were remained to be found out.
"Zexion should rejoin us within the next twenty-four hourse," Vexen explained. "As you all know now, Luxord has seemingly abandoned the Organization. We can not let that happen with the other members. We must find them first and rid the world of those traitors!"
"Who is there left to find?" Saïx inquired.
"As I see it," Lexaeus interjected. "Xaldin, Demyx, Roxas, Naminé, and the Superior."
"We must not lose any of them to betrayal," Vexen stated loudly, getting everybody to focus on him once more. "We must fight back! Agreed?"
"Yeah, yeah," Xigbar said, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the table. "What're we going to do with the traitors once we find them?" Vexen smirked then, clearly amused.
"A very good question there," he told him. "Eliminate them. By any means necessary."
END CHAPTER FOUR
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