genessia | [Video]

He looked up when Axel came in and caught sight of the figure at his side. He didn't recognize it offhand, hood or not, so that was interesting. He wasn't armed, he just looked like he was being lazy, relaxed against the wall.

"Axel." He greeted with his usual absent smile. "Something is different about you..."

He needed a moment, he was trying to place the difference.

Lea appreciated Xion coming along, though he didn't think the Keyblade would be necessary. True, with Demyx's water magic he could cause Lea a lot of trouble if he wanted, but that would require him not being, well, Demyx. It was difficult to consider someone a threat when underachieving was a way of life for them. Of course he knew that Demyx could be provoked to action, but it would take way more than a simple conversation to do it.

Still, Lea wasn't going to cal attention to Xion. If Demyx asked or Xion spoke up, they'd go from there, but otherwise, she could remain a mystery for now.

"Demyx," Lea greeted in return. "And yeah, that difference is actually part of what I wanted to talk to you about. See, I'm not Axel any more; I'm Lea. I got my heart back, and I'm 100% human again now." And there was bombshell number one.

Yeah, she was still getting used to the whole Lea thing, so she was almost looking forward to Demyx's reaction. But with her there, he might try to hide it. Sometimes he was kind of fun to watch when he didn't know she was watching, but she'd still rather be up on the clock tower, generally. But she stayed where she was, behind Axel, waiting and ready.

He was still trying to figure out what exactly was different about Lea's face, until he realized it was the tattoos. Of course the explanation that came with it was absolutely, utterly shocking.

Bombshell didn't even begin to cover it, his eyes widened slightly, but as emotive as he could be he didn't know what emotion he was meant to have in a situation like this.

Axel had up and disappeared from what he knew, and apparently reunited with his heart. He remained silent for a moment, calculating, although his expression didn't change. The implications were staggering, really. First of all, it was possible, at least for Lea. That also meant that he was from the future - and he'd gotten that by the question Lea had asked him before they met.

Had their Superior really come through?

Xion was really more of an afterthought at that moment, he'd noticed her, but Lea's words were far more shocking. That silence was not very characteristic, but it was a big deal.

"Lucky you." He commented after another moment, but at the same time he looked wary. If Lea was human, did that mean he'd changed sides? Was coming here a mistake? His eyes darted to the side a moment, as if mapping an exit route, in case it was necessary.

Welp that lack of reaction was about what Lea expected. Anything that shocking would be hard to come up with the proper expression for under normal circumstances, never mind for a Nobody.

"Yeah," Lea agreed. "Though it's more like 'lucky everyone'. Chances are, you and everyone else in the Organization got theirs back too, though I only know for sure for the eight of us from Radiant Garden. See, when you're recompleted, you reappear as a human in the same place you lost your heart in the first place; since all of the first eight members of the Organization lost their hearts in the lab in the castle basement in Radiant Garden, we all woke up there together. Or we should have anyway; Xigbar, Siax, and Xemnas were conspicuously absent, but I'll explain that in a minute. Point is, while it's safe to assume the same thing happened to you, I really don't have any way of checking since I don't know where you were when you lost your heart."

"Thing is? It probably didn't happen how you think it did," he said. "The whole thing about needing Kingdom Hearts to get our hearts back was all a lie. Xemnas was just using all of us to further a plan his human self had; if the plan had gone through, we'd have all likely been shoved out of our own bodies while they were filled with the heart and mind of Xehanort, Xemnas human self."

Her hand tightened more around her Keyblade as Lea spoke, but she stayed quiet and in his shadow.

Like most of them, he was tight-lipped about where he came from, so it wasn't surprising that Lea didn't know and he wasn't sure he wanted to volunteer that information right then. He wondered, if his world was truly lost like it seemed to be, if it was going to happen just like that.

It was another small reminder that he hadn't been part of that group, a misfit they'd picked up along the way. That hardly bothered him, but he was thinking about what Lea said. It was probably strange that he wasn't that talkative. He was absorbing the information.

A lie. It had been a lie. He'd given up everything for a lie like an idiot while Xemnas laughed at him, all of them really, somewhere in the shadows.

Demyx closed his eyes a moment, trying to remember that he couldn't actually feel angry. He took a slow, deep breath and exhaled.

The rest of the information was just macabre, taking his body from him was something out of a horror film, one he was not in a hurry to watch.

"Well." He breathed. "Sounds about right for my luck, doesn't it?"

There had been a measure of control he thought he had, some semblance of his role, the things he heard when people didn't know he was listening, and he'd been completely and utterly played.

He couldn't unlearn what Lea had just told him. "I'm screwed."

"Yeah," Lea said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Was hard for me to find out too. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you needed to know the truth."

"It does get better in some ways, though, even if it gets worse in others," he said. "Xigbar was in on Xemnas plan from the get go, and I think Siax was brought in on it at some point too. From what I understand, Xigbar- or Braig now, I guess,- accepted having a piece of Xehanort put into him willingly, so Xehanort would guarantee him a place at the table and the chance to retain his own mind at the end of it all. I don't know how willingly Siax- Isa- went or how much he knew and when, but believe me, I intend to find out if I ever make it back home. The two of them and Xemnas are the only ones out of the Organization we knew that made the cut for Xehanort's new Organization, his Thirteen Seekers of Darkness."

"There is one good bit of news in all this though," Lea said. "Kingdom Hearts granting us our hearts back was a lie, but that wasn't the only thing we were lied to about. The others and I got our original hearts back after we died, but you don't have to die to get one. It turns out that Nobodies are only born without hearts; we can develop new ones over time. Xemnas tried to keep us apart to keep that from happening, but still, a lot of us were starting to develop new hearts by the end. I'm pretty sure I was, and I'm all but certain that Roxas was too. So if you think you're getting flickers of feeling? Chances are it's not your imagination. You might well have the beginnings of a new heart in you right now."

She didn't know why, but she almost wanted to take Axe.....Lea's hand. Like she felt she was supposed to squeeze it or.. something. Her free hand started to reach towards his, the she caught herself and let it fall to her side again. Stupid, Xion. Stupid.

She was there to be back up if Ax.... LEA.... if Lea needed it. If Demyx proved more loyal to the leadership than they had accounted for. And since it looked like the other wasn't going to attack, her being here at all was pointless.

Much like her being... at all....

He did not like the truth. He ran his gloved fingers through his hair, his resolve slipping, and pacing instead. It was a lot of information to take in at once and part of him was just so angry at Xemnas, certainly, and himself.

He turned suddenly and looked at Lea. "Xigbar was? What?"

He couldn't care less about Saix, after all the other one had it out for him frequently, but if he was to name someone he got along with the most, it was Xigbar. That snake. That asshole. He should have known better than to trust him, after all they'd all sell each other down the river wouldn't they? Every one of them standing at each other's back with a blade so sharp.

Even that, even their relationships and distrust were orchestrated? Demyx could have sworn his head was spinning so much he felt dizzy.

"Anytime I ever said anything like that, everyone told me I was stupid." He said flatly.

Axel could be lying to him, but why would he make anything like this up? Lea already processed this, and came to him to shatter his entire world. He did not know what he felt, but it was not good.

"Is that....everything?"

Lea didn't blame Demyx for being overwhelmed; he'd gone through the same process himself upon learning how thoroughly they'd all been played. And if he was being honest with himself, it was part of his motivation for joining Sora and his friends; a chance to strike back at the ones who'd hurt and used him, who'd cost him ten years of his life, who'd twisted and manipulated him and the other Organization members for so long. Xehanort and his crew had a lot to answer for, and Lea had a feeling he was only seeing the tip of the iceberg regarding their awfulness.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xion reaching for his hand, only to abort the action halfway. The slightest hint of a smile touched his lips and he reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze to know her gesture and her presence were appreciated before turning his full attention back to Demyx.

"Yeah," Lea frowned. "I mean, I never really liked Xigbar, but I never suspected anything like this. But him and Xemnas gloating about their plan to Sora was how it came out in the first place; can't get much more direct than that."

"It's what we all believed," he said. "Even people outside the Organization didn't really see any real reason to doubt it. I didn't believe it myself, at first, but it makes so many things make more sense in hindsight." Why being around Roxas had made him feel like he had a heart. Why lying to him was so hard. Why he'd flung himself headlong into helping Sora, despite knowing the consequences. There was something there all along...

"Other than the fact that we're gonna make sure Xehanort and his new cronies answer for all this? Yeah, that's it," Lea said. "I wouldn't put it past him to have more unpleasant surprises up his sleeve, but unless he turns out to be somebody in the Organization's long-lost father or something, I doubt anything could top that for personal reasons to want to kick his ass into next Tuesday."

"And what sucks even more is that he's not around to be a convenient target," Lea said. "I mean, him showing up here is the last thing I want, since as it stands there's no way we could face him and hope to win, but at the same time, every time I think about it part of me wishes I had him within punching range, you know? He destroyed peoples lives, tried to destroy whole worlds, all for some insane dream of power. If there's anybody who deserves a Firaga to the face, it's him."

She had blinked form under her hood, surprised at the touch to her shoulder, but the small part of her face that could be seen... Demyx would see a small hesitant smile as she stepped slightly closer to Axel.

But the smile faded when Lea said that there were no other surprises. that he didn't think any other surprises could be worse. Because there was still her. And she wasn't sure if she had been neglected from that for her sake, or because not remembering her... she wasn't important enough to be mentioned, to be angry over.

She didn't know what to think, about anything, ever. She looked down, trying to figure things out. She was confident enough that Demyx wasn't going to attack Axel, that she could let her mind wander a bit, at least.

Gloating, yeah, that sounded like their Superior. Ten minutes before, Demyx had an idea of where he stood in the world and Lea had very successfully upended that in one fell swoop. It was disorienting to say the least. He'd been planning on hunkering down, holding out until he could get back, because surely he couldn't be in trouble if he couldn't leave.

It was going to be hard going back with the knowledge he possessed, and more to the point, he wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do with himself. It was going to be a steep learning curve, really.

"I liked Xigbar fine, but I should've known better." Backstabbers, the lot of them, and he knew that. It was really his own fault he'd been played. He didn't understand how Lea made it all just work. He'd done it with Roxas too. He didn't know the figure at his side, but there was familiarity there.

"Yeah, well I probably should have questioned more, but I believed whatever he told me." It didn't matter how young he'd been in the beginning, to him, although objectively that factored a lot into it. "Nothing like learning you've wasted your life to really brighten up your day."

"That's sheer madness Axel." Demyx said firmly. "If you think he's not just going to wipe the floor with you..." He knew when he was outmatched and Xemnas outmatched him severely.

He had so much to think about. He moved to sit with his back against the wall, resting his chin on his knees. He wondered what he'd be like if he hadn't been in the Organization at all.

"You know what they say about hindsight being 20-20," Lea said. "It's easy to say we should have known better looking back, but at the time? I mean, I always figured that Xemnas was up to something; about 80% of the Organization was at any given time. But I never thought..." He sighed.

"Xehanort is the kind of guy who lies for a living; he was even before he gave up his heart," he said. "Hell, he's probably been using and manipulating people since before you or I were even born. But knowing how he played us still makes me feel like an idiot sometimes."

A slight smirk quirked his lips at Demyx's comment about the likely outcome of a fight between him and Xemnas. "Hence why I don't actually want him here," Lea said. "But a guy can dream, right? Back home, though... back home I'll have more help." He paused briefly before continuing. "I've joined up with Sora and his friends; don't know how much help I'll be when it comes down to it, but I made a promise that I'd be there for my friends, and the only way to do that right now is helping Sora." He had other reasons, of course, and Demyx could probably guess a couple of them, but Lea didn't really feel the need to volunteer them.

"And speaking of friends," he said, indicating Xion, "this is Xion. She's a friend of me and Roxas, and was the Organization's Number XIV." He would see how Demyx reacted to her before dealing with the question that was sure to be asked. Demyx wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he could count, and certainly wouldn't remember any Number XIV; fortunately the explanation for that would be both simpler and much less traumatic than the previous revelations.

When he had said that he would be there for her friends, she had almost reached towards him again, almost stepped closer.... almost turned and ran. But for all the almosts, she had stayed there, still and conflicted. And.... then he introduced her.

She hesitated a moment more, then stepped forward and closer until she was beside Axel, rather than behind. She watched Demyx, waiting to see what he said, how he reacted. And wondering if his reaction be any different if he remembered her as if he didn't. It wasn't like they interacted all that much. He seemed just as content to pretend she didn't exist in the first place.

But if somehow he did remember her, and thought to use her as leverage against her friend, he'd be wrong. Dead wrong. HEr hands closed to fists at her side and trembled, It took effort not to call in her Keyblade. But she waited, and watched.

"Yeah, well you know, it's a lot to take in." Demyx ran his hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. He wasn't sure what to think and he was feeling rather pissed, actually, not that that was actually possible, no matter what Axel - no, Lea - said.

His eyes darted to the side, catching a glance at Lea from his peripheral vision, suddenly suspicious at the admission of changing sides, admitting to being a traitor. Wasn't he lucky. His instincts told him to be suspicious, to have his guard raised, because now they were enemies. Not actively, unless Lea wanted to make a production of it, but he was still chained to their Superior. There was no heart to be found.

"Is that so?" He questioned in a mild, even tone. "We're not there, but are you going to come after me?" Demyx might as well have been direct, it could be messy if Lea did want to make an issue of it.

He blinked a few times. Friends? That's right. Axel had been friends with Roxas, which was very fortunate for him. He wasn't totally clueless, as hopefully he'd proven by then and he raised a hand and smiled. "Hey Xion." He greeted her with a warm enough tone for someone who was unable to feel it.

Demyx's glance flickered back to Lea. "Fourteen? Uh..." He was pretty sure he'd know if there had been a fourteenth member. "Have we...met?"

Lea shook his head at the question of whether he was going to come after Demyx. "Nah," he said. "You were never that annoying. And as long as you don't actively try to hurt me or my friends or come up with some Xehanort level crazy plan that endangers the whole place, I say live and let live. You can do whatever you want as far as I'm concerned. Maybe even make a living playing your sitar, if you wanted; I've heard they've got some talent agencies around here for musicians and things."

And there was the expected question about Xion. Lea kept a hand on Xion's shoulder for support and glanced down at her, opting to let her answer unless she indicated that she'd rather have him do it.

Edited 2017-08-06 01:57 (UTC)

She was shaking under his hand and she swallowed. But she did, after a hesitation, speak. Her voice was quiet, but didn't give away the fact that she was trembling. "We have, but a witch took everyone's memories of me, just before I arrived here. No one will remember who I am, because they're not supposed to." While none of her fear sounded in her voice, there was a strong unspoken "not like it matters" under her words. After all. She was the failure. the fourteenth in a group of 13. The broken puppet, the shattered mirror. Roxas and Axel were the only ones who had ever WANTED to notice her.

Demyx laughed at Lea's response. "When have I been the plan guy?" Lea should have known better than that. It was incredibly unlikely that he would be planning evil plans.

"Whatever...I want?" Demyx asked, mildly incredulously. How the heck was he supposed to know what that was? He was a little amused at the suggestion. "I don't know if that'd work, it's like playing the cello. It's not like a guitar or something, although learning something like that would be cool..."

He was watching Xion when she spoke, head tilted to the side. A witch who messed with memories? Didn't that sound familiar? It seemed like someone he should know about, but it was escaping him. He was remembering someone saying something about it and then tuning them out so he didn't really have a grasp on that information. It was probably part of some longer, boring speech he didn't listen to.

"Huh!" Demyx said, as though that was incredibly interesting. "Well okay, Xion, nice to meet you again?" He had no idea what their relationship was like before, obviously, but he could guess it was distant. He kept everyone at a distance.

Lea chuckled. "Hey I dunno," he said clearly kidding. "Maybe you're secretly an evil genius and all your slacking was just to lull us into a false sense of security. But seriously, given how weird our lives were and are, I've learned not to say that anything is impossible."

He shrugged slightly. "With all the different people and different worlds represented around here, who knows?", he said. "Maybe there's a whole untapped market full of people out there just itching for some good sitar music. Might be worth looking into, at least." And probably a more attractive prospect to someone like Demyx than a normal job.

Lea could feel Xion's trembling but was nonetheless proud that she'd spoken up. He squeezed her shoulder briefly, letting her know she'd done a good job. He'd caught the undertone of insinuation that it didn't matter, but that part they could work on.

She flicked her eyes at Axel... Lea, grateful for the small comfort of that squeeze, then she looked back to Demyx and did something she could only do because of that show of support. She lifted her hands carefully, and slowly lowered her hood, not sure what or who Demyx would see when looking at her face. "Alright," she said, softly.

He had at least heard her voice. So maybe he'd see her, and not a puppet. But would he see her, or Sora? Or someone else?

"Yeah right." He chuckled at the thought of a mad rush for sitar music, it was thoroughly amusing. That sort of gig was far more appealing, true, but he was still very unsettled from the entire conversation and everything ahead of him. He was not about to divulge that, at any rate.

He didn't know the girl he was seeing before him, but that didn't mean much. His memories had been wiped like everyone else's.

"Cool." He offered his hand in a friendly manner, at least he wasn't the hostile type. Even when he knew she was a puppet, aside from the idea being strange, he hadn't thought much of it. He wasn't about to start now.

It was indeed an amusing thought, but not one Lea would entirely discount either due to his aforementioned reasoning regarding things being impossible. Not like he knew much about the music industry, after all.

He was pleased that Xion was willing to lower her hood, though he didn't know who Demyx would see either; he always just saw Xion, a black-haired look-alike of Kairi and Naminé. Whoever Demyx saw though, it clearly didn't surprise him- as it almost certainly would have if he'd seen Sora- so Lea suspected that he saw the same black haired girl.

He wasn't sure if Xion was aware of what handshakes were or not, though he didn't want to jump to conclusions, just waiting to see what she would do for the moment.

Xion stared at his hand for a long moment, then looked up confused. First her look went to Demyx, then she looked to Axel instead. Lea. Lea would help her understand. Why would Demyx be reaching for her? Was it an attack gesture? Didn't seem to be. But h wasn't offering anything... was he asking for something? Did... did he want her Keyblade?

She was so confused, and it showed on her face.

Neither one of them were speaking, just quietly standing before him and Xion didn't take his hand, but rather gave him an odd look, and then looked back at Lea. It kind of figured, didn't it? They weren't like him, at least from what he knew about Xion, he presumed she was more like Lea and clearly a friendly overture wasn't terribly welcome, at least he thought so.

Demyx let out a little nervous hum and withdrew his hand, stuffing it into his pocket instead, glancing away from them.

"Okay, well, um...it was nice to meet you and thanks...for the information I guess." He didn't know what he was going to do with it, but he was beginning to think he needed to bail, to put some distance between them because to him it seemed like something awkward was lingering between the three.

It wasn't going to go well if they both decided to eliminate him instead of letting things lie. Lea was pretty lucky he could make friends, it was something to be envied.

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hotheadwarmheart - 2017-08-27 23:23 (UTC) - Expand

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Sorry for the no dialog tag. X3

Mine too. But then... Xion.

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