FicWad

Axel thought he had a better idea of why Demyx was acting so weird lately. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he suspected it was illegal in most civilized worlds. It almost had to be illegal where he came from. And whatever it was, it was fucking him up badly. It all fit together so disturbingly well - the seemingly constant insomnia, that bug-eyed look, the weakness, the lethargy, the shaking hands, the apparently causeless injuries, the bizarre mood swings, the suddenly grinning like an idiot at the weirdest times, the general sense that Demyx wasn't really clued in to what was going on around him...it probably even had something to do with the fact that it looked like he was gaining and losing weight at the same time, with his increasingly round face and belly and increasingly bony arms and legs. Axel wanted to hit himself for not figuring it out earlier - he lived right next door, for Kingdom Hearts's sake!

Whatever he was on, it wasn't doing him any favors; it hadn't taken him and Roxas too long to agree on that. They'd taken turns keeping an eye on him for two weeks, hoping to catch him in the act so they'd have something concrete to accuse him of, though they hadn't caught him at anything yet - maybe he only used it while on missions. Heck, maybe he'd found it on a mission. Whatever it was, someone had to get him to stop doing it, and soon. Which is why Axel was following him down the hallway, listening in as Demyx clutched at his head and muttered to himself. "Leave me alone; I didn't invite you in..." he pleaded to someone invisible - someone who probably existed only in his own mind. "I wish you'd go away...wherever you came from, go back! Stop it!" he shouted, then fell to the ground, sobbing quietly. "What, you want me to shoot myself or something? No. I'm not gonna do it. Not even to get rid of you."

Axel, trying to keep out of sight, was confused, disturbed, and above all horrified. /Maybe he's not melting his brain with drugs,/he realized. /Maybe his brain's melting down all by itself./Knowing full well that he was doing what could possibly be the stupidest thing he'd ever done, he took a few careful steps closer."Demyx? Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Demyx didn't seem to hear him. He sat up, still clutching his head, not looking in Axel's direction. "Stop talking. I'd rather not hear at all than have to listen to you. This isn't worth it," he murmured to the voice in his head.

"What's not worth it?" If Demyx heard him at all, he didn't respond. Axel leaned down and touched his shoulder. "Demyx?"

Axel's head actually bounced off the wall from the force of the blow. He slid to the ground, with the world spinning around him, while Demyx stood over him with one fist clenched and a murderous look in his eye. Kingdom Hearts...who are you, what did you do with the real Demyx, and how can we get him back? You're fuckin' insane! "What...the hell...was that for?" he gasped.

For what seemed like an eternity, Demyx didn't respond, just stood there looking like he'd break Axel's head open if he so much as breathed too deeply. Then suddenly his contorted face relaxed a little, and he lowered and unclenched his fist, as if suddenly coming back to his senses. "Oh...I...I didn't know..." He went from enraged to horrified in a matter of seconds. "Axel...I am so sorry..." he whispered, then took off at a run, leaving Axel slumped against the wall waiting for his head to stop spinning.

Even after the world had sorted itself out and was holding still like it should, he didn't stand up, for more reasons than to spare his aching head. Do I go tell Xigbar he just tried to bust my skull, or tell Vexen he just had a psychotic episode? Tell Xigbar and get the little nutbar in trouble, or tell Vexen and maybe get the poor guy some help?

When he put it that way, there wasn't much choice. He staggered upright and summoned a portal, clutching his pounding head. "Hey, Vexen...there is something seriously wrong with Demyx's head..."