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Zexion stared coldly at the man who was threatening him. "Put the gun away."

The man sneered. "Hand over that coat and I won't shoot you."

"Put the gun away. I won't repeat myself again."

"What, you think you can stare me down, runt? You're kind of creepy, I admit, but I'll be damned if you're that creepy."

"Snrr..."

"You might want to pay more attention to the tigers behind you. Perhaps they'll be impressed."

The man turned around slowly. There were, indeed, three very unhappy-looking tigers behind him, all eyeing him with ravenous malice. He panicked and fired wildly in an effort to kill them or frighten them off, but the illusory animals were unfazed. One sprang at him, and the man dropped his weapon and fled, screaming.

Zexion snorted. "Idiot." He opened his lexicon and looked at the map of the world, trying to determine where he was in it. Held the map so it was oriented the same way he was facing. Tried to determine where Eight and Nine might have started out and where Nine might have ended up in case of a levee breach based on probable water currents. Attempted to plot which areas would likely be flooded to impassibility, which areas would likely be flooded but still passable, and which areas were probably still dry. Looked at the scale on the side of the map.

And realized just how little information he really had.


I never thought I'd drink bottled water. The whole idea seems kind of strange, or maybe that's just me. Demyx examined the bottle carefully, as if it were carved out of a solid gem instead of molded from clear plastic. One of the things he'd thought he'd lost with his heart was his ability to feel thirst. He'd never suspected that he was never thirsty because of his powers over water. Well, now his powers weren't working, and he had one more source of discomfort to contend with.

He didn't want to think too much about the MRE heating up on the concrete step next to him, hopefully where no one would step on it. The concept of fitting an entire meal, plus a heater, into little plastic bags was slightly baffling. The instructions were even more baffling. And the fact that people were expected to eat these...most baffling of all.

He tore the top off a hot bag of what claimed to be beef stew and looked inside. Not even Axel would eat this.

Sighing, he reached for his plastic spoon. Well, Axel never went 24 hours without food if he could possibly help it, like he'd just done.

I hope Vexen never gets this idea.

While he didn't expect to be rescued -because, honestly, who'd care enough to make the effort, when they could just check the Proof of Existence to make sure he was still alive? And how would they ever find him if they did? - he fully expected to be able to return on his own eventually, once he recovered his powers. He didn't know how long that would take, but, being Demyx, he was optimistic. It couldn't take too long, right? He wasn't the first member to burn out like this, was he? He knew Xigbar had done it once before, as an experiment, back when the Organization only numbered six...how long had it taken him to recover?

If he'd ever heard, he couldn't remember. He might have just finished recovering the day Demyx arrived. It could have been years.

Demyx looked out at the huge stadium. Suddenly realizing just how many people were packed into it made him personally feel extremely small. The bottom of the stadium was full of trash, forcing everybody up into the higher tiers where he was, and there were still more people coming in. He couldn't even begin to think about counting them.

And with the rest of this world presumably in ruins, there was nowhere else to go.

The ersatz beef stew suddenly looked even less appealing than before. And I might end up eating a lot of it.

I'll recover soon...right?




Blam!"Freeshooter's delivery service! Anybody home?"

Once he pried himself off the tent ceiling, Roxas grabbed his coat and snow goggles and opened the tent flap."Two...what are you doing here?"

"Xigbar, kid." The Freeshooter looked faintly ridiculous, wearing his eyepatch under dark goggles, and Roxas hated being called "kid", but he was six inches from bored out of his mind and would have welcomed a crowd of Heartless if they were awake and aware."In theory, I'm here to check up on you two. In addition, our brilliant Academic went and had himself a brainfart, and I'm here to rectify it."

Roxas nearly choked. "Vexen forgot something?"

Xigbar peeled off his goggles as he stepped in, shaking snow off his boots. "Don't think it ever occurred to him, dude. If it doesn't have pushable buttons or turn green when you add acid, he doesn't know it's there. Me, I'm a bit more practical than that. I figured, being stuck here with poor Axel, who's pretty much out of it from what I hear, and not allowed to portal back even to use the bathroom or anything, you'd be getting kinda bored." The scarred man handed Roxas the bag he'd brought with him. "Thought you might like some of this stuff."

Roxas set the bag down on his cot and looked through it. Books...his PSP...his CD player...a stack of CDs..."Wait, these aren't all mine...you didn't raid Demyx's collection, did you?"

"As if. I don't want to drown in my sleep when he gets back," Xigbar snorted. "They're Axel's." As Roxas wondered how burning in your sleep was an improvement over drowning in your sleep, Xigbar turned to the redhead, who was sitting up, sort of, and watching them with bright green eyes. "So, dude, how's it going?"

Axel stared at him, openmouthed."They talk?"

Xigbar turned back to Roxas. "Dude, he really is out of it."

Roxas nodded wearily. "He can't tell me from Demyx. He must think you're a water clone or something. I think he still thinks he's...back with Demyx on that failed mission."

"Kid, when one of us screws up, that's a failed mission. I think whatever happened to them is more along the lines of an 'unmitigated disaster'." He pulled a notepad and pen out of his pocket. "Now the crap that Vexen wants to know...still apparently delirious, don't need to ask you that...and it feels like an oven in here; guess he's still running a fever...find that medicated ice cream in the freezer?" Roxas nodded. "Get him to eat any of it?"

"Just one, the last time he woke up. He's only woken up twice, before now, and the first time was just for a few minutes."

"And he kept that down okay?" Roxas nodded again. "What else has he eaten?"

The young Nobody thought for a long moment. "...Actually, nothing. I had to talk him into eating the ice cream."

Xigbar blinked in surprise. "Nothing?Seriously?" He wrote that down with a concerned expression."Well...he's awake now; try the ice cream again. He's only supposed to have one at a time, at least four hours apart, but if he's not eating anything else...I dunno. I probably forgot a dozen questions that Vexen's gonna want to kick my ass about, but I'll be back tomorrow anyway. Later, dudes."

"Wait - Xigbar?" The Freeshooter turned back to look at Roxas. "You think Demyx will come back?"

Xigbar held up his hands in exasperation. "Dude, just think for a second, why wouldn't he? Just because his fight-or-flight response is geared towards flight and he doesn't usually think before he acts doesn't mean he's a wuss or an idiot like everyone seems to assume. If he's in trouble, he's not so stupid he can't get himself out of it. If he's hurt or sick, he can probably charm someone into taking care of him. If he's burned himself out, he'll just take care of himself until Zexion catches up with him, or until he recovers if the Schemer's a slowpoke. Don't sell him too short, dude, and if you wanna know why, just ask Axel." He replaced his goggles and stepped outside. Moments later, a portal could be heard opening and closing.

Roxas glanced back at Axel as he went to the freezer like Xigbar had suggested. "So how much of that made sense to you?"

Axel still looked surprised. "I didn't know your water clones talked."

Roxas sighed. "I'll explain what that was all about later. Here."

Axel accepted the proffered medicated treat with an expression of bafflement. "Where do you keep coming up with these?"

Roxas thought fast. "...Vexen taught me how. And I figured they'd help keep you calm right now."

"Vexen taught you? Oh, I guess that kind of makes sense, since ice is just frozen water...But I'm a lot calmer than I was earlier. And I'm really not hungry. Not even for ice cream." Axel looked mournful.

Roxas stared. I thought Demyx acting the hero was strange... The joke went that Axel literally burned/calories, and had to keep fueling the furnace he called a stomach constantly. Axel was /always hungry. He must be sicker than I realized."...Eat it anyway. You need the food."

Axel pouted and ate his ice cream dutifully. Roxas wondered just what that weird sensation in the bottom of his stomach was.




By the time Zexion's stomach settled enough for him to think of continuing, he'd decided where he was - Audubon Park - and thought he had a workable plan. It would be impossible to deduce where Eight and Nine had been from the information he had, and the idea that Nine would simply be washed away through this mess and survive seemed ridiculous - maybe it was impossible for him to drown, but he would inevitably have been thrown into trees and buildings. And storms of this magnitude did not simply come crashing through with no advance warning whatsoever; there must have been/ some/ time to plan and prepare. For instance, by preparing shelters for the displaced in large, sturdy buildings.

Buildings such as - Zexion checked the names circled on his map - the Superdome. And the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. If Nine had held out through the night camped on a roof and been rescued later, or if he'd done something so clever as calling up a few water clones and ordering them to take him to safety, he could very well have ended up at one or the other.

Which one to search first...The two possible shelters were much closer to each other than to his present location - going to one would put him much closer to the other than he was now. The wrong choice could slow him down a bit, but it was unlikely to prevent him from locating Nine at all - if Nine couldn't make a portal back to the World that Never Was, it was unlikely he could make a portal out of this world to anywhere, and if he'd survived this long, he was probably more or less out of danger. The Superdome was a more obvious choice of a shelter, and was marginally closer. But the Convention Center was slightly uphill from where he was - meaning the floodwaters would decrease as he went. And a third choice - Tulane University Hospital - was a mere few blocks away.

If Nine was injured or ill and had been rescued, he probably would have been taken to a hospital instead of another shelter, and if he had been sent there, finding him became all the more urgent. Zexion closed his lexicon and started for the hospital under a darkening sky.

He had a brief moment of doubt when he saw that the sign on the building now read "ilane University Hospital".