The room was eerily quiet and still, the only visible movement came from the gently shifting white curtains each time the morning breeze outside picked up slightly and inched its way through the open slat in the window.  This gave the room a comfortable cool feeling, accompanied by the refreshing scent of morning.

Even though darkness reigned the World that Never Was, there still seemed to be a strange sort of shift in the temperature that normally shouldn’t be possible in a sunless world.  The only conclusion could be that Kingdom Hearts acted as both sun and moon, seasonal warmth during ‘daylight’ hours and the chill of nighttime when the shadows grew powerful and swallowed all.   It never got hot, just comfortable warmth; it never got cold, just comfortably brisk.  Often times a Nobody would be perfectly content to crack open a window andleave it that way long into the night.

Zexion was no exception to this little observation.  He often left his window open, letting the fresh air in to clean out the scent of dust and old books.  Even though he rather liked that scent from ancient books, it could get stuffy after a while. So he would often open the window, dust the various shelves and bookcases that lined his room, then he’d stumble across some book he forgot he had.  All would be forgotten once he found that lost treasure and he would curl up in his overstuffed chair near the window where he would find himself roaming once more in another world he could hold in his hands.

It was no different this day, books of all sizes were lying in neat piles across the room, while the shelves sat freshly dusted and waiting to be restocked.  Yet all waited in forgotten silence, their master snuggled deep in the chair unaware of the state of semi-disarray around him.  The book he had been reading slipped further out of his weak grasp and settled on his lap.  A lazy feeling had overtaken him and he was now dozing peacefully with the light breeze teasing his silver blue hair.  

Something shifted in the atmosphere, the once peaceful scene altered slightly as an eerie sensation washed over the Cloaked Schemer.  It penetrated his void dreams and pulled him mercilessly back to consciousness.  Dark lashes fluttered for a moment, as dark blue eyes shifted attention on his bedroom door.  

It was there, lurking just outside the entry, a familiar scent that he had come to recognize from afar.  It usually meant trouble, and he wasn’t about to ignore it again. He had learned his lesson well after he’d awakened not too long ago to find hideous things scrawled across his forehead.  

He slipped quietly out of his chair and carefully began to creep up on the door, very much like a cat stalking after a mouse.  He raised a gloved hand, fingers spreading as though he was reaching to grab something from a shelf; in a matter of moments a rather hefty book flew from a nearby table and settled into his firm grasp.  The Cloaked Schemer was now armed and dangerous, his massive Lexicon clutched tightly in his hand ready to be used to bludgeon someone.

Zexion listened at the doorway; head bowed slightly letting his silver blue locks of hair fall further across his face, casting shadows that gave him an even more ominous look.   Two intruders, two stupid souls ready to be beaten down if they dared enter his domain without consent. But he would wait; he wanted to see what possessed them to dare come near him so soon after the last time.

The other side of the entry was quiet; the two nobodies that had stepped up to the door now stared at it for the longest time, as though they weren’t even sure why they had come there.  At least that was Roxas’ thoughts on the subject.  His mind seemed to be drawing a blank as to why in the name of Kingdom Hearts his red headed best friend would DARE to come within a ten foot radius of the book flinging nobody that had marred his face just a week earlier.

Roxas’ thoughts cut off when he heard a strange sort of sloshing noise coming from Axel, who was standing directly to his right.  It almost sounded like a soda being shaken for an attack, something he knew all too well.  Roxas leaned back, peering behind Axel’s back to see that he was shaking the elixir furiously with his right hand, his index finger holding something long inside the opening like a sort of makeshift cork.  

Roxas straitened back staring up at Axel and raising a curious eyebrow.  Axel must have felt the stare because soon his emerald eyes flicked to the side and captured his little friend’s.  A wicked smirk twisted across his lips as he pulled the ‘cork’ from the elixir’s bottle, replacing it with the original flask stopper.  It wasn’t until Axel slipped the elixir into his coat pocket and retrieved the lipstick cover that Roxas connected what Axel had been doing.  

“What in the world?” Roxas whispered soundlessly, only to be cut off when Axel snapped the lipstick shut, then held a finger to his lips to motion for silence.

Axel raised a gloved hand, his knuckles just about to lightly tap against the door, “I know you’re there, Axel.”  A chilly voice growled from inside, halting the impending knock.

Axel pushed the door open gingerly, smiling as though he was greeting one of his best friends “Zexion, old buddy, dear friend… now what clued you in?”

“You stink…” Zexion glared from below his layers of hair, tapping his book very lightly against the side of his head, a taunting sort of gesture on his part.

“Excuse me?!”  Axel growled and glared over at Roxas who began to laugh in short uncontrollable spurts, sounding very much like a little barking dog. “I’ll have you know I’m wearing only the best cologne.”

“It’s hideous, and you don’t have to bathe in it, you know.”  Zexion snorted, the book he had been holding so defensively began to lower just a little.

“He carries around one of those Axe bullets just in case…” Roxas snickered.

“I want to live those commercials…” Axel grinned stupidly, Roxas’ words triggering one of his many commercial induced fantasies about himself in a sea of bikini-clad women.

Zexion rolled his eyes, “Please, like any woman is going to jump a counter to get to YOU and your disgusting body spray.”

“HEY! Do I squash your dreams like a bug on windshield!?” Axel snarled.

“Naw, you just write on my face while I dream… Jerk.” Zexion’s guard finally lowered completely, despite his fierce words, the book now dangled limply by his side. “What do you want, Axel?”

Axel sighed; tilting his head back as though the next words that were about to spill from his lips pained him terribly. “Do you know of anything that can get rid of bruises?”

“I rather like that one on you.” Zexion grinned like a Cheshire cat, running a finger from his forehead down to his chin to indicate he knew exactly what bruise Axel was whining about.

“Come on, man, you took pictures, isn’t that enough to remember it by!?”  Axel howled.

“He did?!” Roxas perked up, his attention suddenly falling on Zexion, “You did?!”

“Of course I did,” Zexion nodded in the direction of a desk in the corner, a pristine looking scrapbook settled comfortably on the surface for all to see.

“OOOOH! I wanna see!!” Roxas gasped as he lunged for the book and began to thumb through it.

Axel stared at the little blonde for a moment, his jaw tensing visible signs that he was grinding his teeth in irritation, “I really wonder what kind of friend you are sometimes, I mean I seriously do NOT need enemies with friends like you.”

“But it’s FUNNY!”  Roxas grinned sheepishly as he held up the image of Axel in a pink tutu. “Can’t you take a joke!?”

“It’s not funny.  And it will never be funny.”  Axel ground out, teeth still clenched, “There’s nothing funny about a manly dude like me being forced to wear a chick’s dress…”

“So said the one that made me wear Namine’s clothes…” Roxas snorted as he turned the page.

“Keyword was MANLY dude…” Axel sneered.

“You wanna run that by me again, spaz?” Roxas snarled as he readied to lunge for Axel.

“I called you a dainty little girly-boy… I mean I seriously think I don’t have a best friend; I don’t hang with the guys... No, I’ve got a little sister tagging after me... Wanna make something of it?” Axel snorted planting his palm in the middle of Roxas’ forehead, holding him just out of arms reach.

Roxas swung at him a few times growling a bit only to give up quickly, “Zexion, hit him with something.”

“Hmmm, I’m rather enjoying this little battle of wits, so I think not.”  Zexion sighed.

“Hey, twinkle toes, for someone who seems to take such great pleasure in others torment, I don’t see any photos of your initiation in there.”  Axel gave Roxas a slight shove, forcing him back a few stumbling steps.

“Then you’re not looking very closely.”  Zexion nodded at the book that had fallen to the floor.

“Wait, I’ve been all through that book, I never saw yours… They started at three and went on from there, but I never saw yours.”  Roxas picked up the scrapbook and thumbed through it again.  “See, it goes from Lexaeus… which dude, he’s the ugliest chick I’ve ever seen…” Roxas shuddered as he flipped the page, “Then some fantasy print and straight to Saix.”

Axel peered over Roxas’ shoulder at the book, “Saix is a little disturbing too, kinda Viking Valkarie that’ll sooner eat you than look at you. So what’s with the hawt goddess? Cheater… you can’t just throw in some random video game pin up and skip your own.”

Zexion didn’t say a word; the only acknowledgment of Axel’s statement was the slight raise of his visible eyebrow and a slight grimace tugging at his lips.

Axel and Roxas both stared at him, then back at the photo, then back at Zexion once more.  An airy light blue gown with multiple layers of soft teal fabric tied at the waist with a gold sash adorned the figure.  The style of the clothes almost mixed a Greek goddess with a fairy.  Long detached sleeves gathered by gold bands at the mid upper arm seemed to flow out as though they were caught on some soft breeze.  ‘She’ had various gold chains wrapped around her neck, and a small tiara that wrapped around the forehead, and an elegantly adorned harp clutched in her hands.   The only thing that seemed slightly off was the fact that she had short blue hair when they expected to see long blue hair.  That was the only clue to the identity of the figure in the image.

Roxas gaped like a fish without water.

Now that they were looking closely they could see, what had looked like the goddess of the Triforce of Wisdom, Nayru, was actually Zexion.  “WHAT THE CRAP!?!”  

Zexion shrugged, “I take my cosplaying very seriously….”

“Why would you keep your own...” Axel twitched, a look on his face like he just smelled something horrible.

Zexion fidgeted, trying to think of a way to change the subject.  The last thing he wanted was to admit he rather liked cosplaying and took every costume seriously no matter what the character, even if it was something embarrassing like that one.  It was one of his best since people never could figure out who it was in the photo no matter how long they stared at it... usually.

Roxas’ eyes widened, then his expression completely shifted to an evil sneer, “Axel called Zexion hawt...”

“I WHAT?! NO... NO I DIDN’T! Shut up!” Axel slapped Roxas along the back of the head.

“As flattering as that was...” Zexion grimaced, suppressing the gag reflex but failing in doing so. “Let’s change the subject now.”

“Yeah, bruises. Tell me how to make this go away.” Axel quickly followed that conversation path, wanting to forget his little slip.

Zexion sauntered over to one of his numerous piles of books, skimming his fingers along the spines until he found one that he was looking for. “I suppose you’ve suffered enough; well maybe not quit enough, but I’m forgiving and generous to a fault I suppose. There is one cure I can think of... let’s see.”  Zexion cracked open the book and skimmed the pages.

“Generous and forgiving my toosh.” Axel grumbled under his breath.

If Zexion had heard the insult he opted to ignore it, “Ah, here... Hirudo Therapy.  A technique widely used in many cultures over many years, it was discarded around the end of the 19th century... hmm... but it has begun to pick up popularity again in some areas.”

“Hiru-wha?” Axel gaped, not sure what in the world was just said to him.

“Woooah... lost its pull around the 19th century... you’re talking medieval hookie-pookie aren’t you?” Roxas shivered at the thought.

“But it does work to some extent.” Zexion smiled, “Just because the technique is old doesn’t mean it’s completely useless.”

“Ok, but what is this Hokkaido therapy?” Axel pushed again.

“Hirudo.  Hirudo Therapy.” The Cloaked schemer corrected as he closed the book with a snap. “In other words... let’s get a big fat leech and stick it to your face!”

“UUUUUUGH!!” Axel and Roxas both screamed and jumped about three feet away from the now snickering nobody.

“That’s sick, Man, just SICK!!” Axel almost squealed. “If you’re not going to take this seriously then I’ll just leave, I should have known better than to ask you.”

“You asked what would take away the bruising, I told you.” Zexion sighed, “The leech would take away the blood that’s caught under the skin and...”

“NOO, NO, no, no, NOOOO!” Axel clamped his hands over his ears, “I don’t want to hear it! I’m not listening to you!”

“Oh please, you big baby.  There are far worse things in the worlds than a minor little nip from a slimy, worm-like creature.” Zexion started to set his book down but paused mid movement, a scent he recognized was approaching, but something was off about it.  

A strange crackling noise, like a low buzz of energy, pricked at the Cloaked Schemer’s ears.  He started to ask if the others heard it too when his bedroom door suddenly flew open with a tremendous slam. It ripped from the door frame, denting the wall; the nails in the hinges of his door flew across the room and imbedded themselves in various places.  The air that rushed into the now wide-open entry crackled with built up electricity sending off small sparks of yellow light in every direction.

“That would be one of them...” Zexion sighed as the Savage Nymph stormed into the room.

“YOU!!” she roared as she pointed at Axel, one of her small daggers clutched between her fingers threateningly. “You have something of mine and don’t you dare try to deny it, because Marluxia told me YOU took it, you freak of nature, and I want it back, NOW!”

Axel was leaning back as far as he could without actually falling on his rump while Larxene leaned ever closer until she was practically nose-to-nose with the Flurry.  He quickly reached into his pocket and held out her lipstick with nothing but a sheepish grin on his face for an excuse.

Larxene let out a snarl and snatched the stick from his weak grasp before she finally backed down and turned off the electric works.  The room was eerily silent for a few moments after that.

“Larxy!! You shouldn’t kick Zexy’s door in like that... oh...” The whine from down the hall suddenly trailed off, “Oh... uh oh.” Demyx had finally caught up with the Savage Nymph but he slammed to a screeching halt once he reached the doorway, making Marluxia bump into him from behind.

Marluxia flicked his blue eyes over the scene and then studied the edge of the door with shattered hinges and splintering wood. “She’s so skillful.”

“Yes, Larxene, Demyx is correct... Did you have to kick in my door?” Zexion grunted as he dropped his book on the nearest pile.

“Pul-ease, it can be fixed.  If I don’t put the fear in you monkeys how am I expected to keep my reputation?”  She smiled as she started to unscrew her lipstick.

“Oh how beautiful, everything that falls from her lips is like poetry.” Marluxia sighed dreamily behind Demyx.

Every Nobody in the room turned and stared at him blankly.

“There’s something wrong with Sakura-chan, he’s been saying weird things all day. I think you should take a look at him, Zexion.” Larxene raised an eyebrow at Marluxia, as she ran the tip of her lipstick over her pale pink lips, noting the way he watched her actions so intently.  

The slight cherry petal coloring of the stick now stained her lips a darker and more attractive shade of pink. It wasn’t until she pursed her lips to spread the pigment evenly that she felt something wash over her, something very strange. On instinct she shook her head lightly as she flicked her tongue over her bottom lip for just a second.  The wave of dizziness hit her hard after that small action, her mind felt as though it was spinning.  She glanced at Zexion who still had his dark blue eyes on her; she could see a strange sort of questioning look on his face as he watched her.  Her vision became hazy, she felt so light now as she turned her gaze to Axel.
With an evil curl in the corner of his mouth, and slightly narrowed and amused emerald eyes, he began to study her.  He had done something, and she had fallen for it too.  Much anger mixed with fear suddenly gripped her; it was like nothing she had ever felt... and that is what frightened her more than anything.  Feeling fear within her chest, like icy fingers wrapping around something and squeezing the life out of her, her thoughts dissipated to nothing and she collapsed to the floor.

Zexion lunged, he could see it coming, the glazed look in her usually bright and fiery eyes had dulled suddenly.  He managed to dive down and catch her by the shoulders, cradling her head against his own shoulder before she had completely crumpled to the ground.

“Larxene!” Zexion called to her as he cradled her in his arms, patting her cheek with his free hand trying to get her to open her eyes.

“What happened!?” Zexion’s harsh question went unnoticed by all.  He cast his gaze up at the musician still standing stricken in the doorway, his aquamarine eyes wide with disbelief.  Suddenly Demyx’s expression hardened as he jerked his gaze toward Axel, shooting a death glare for the briefest of moments before joining Zexion on the floor.

“Larxy?” Her name fell from his lips in a whisper as he ran his fingers through her hair. “Zexy is she...”

Of course, it made perfect sense.  Demyx couldn’t hide anything, and Axel always seemed to be the root of any problem.  Zexion flicked his head to the side, his silver blue hair falling away from his eyes with the movement.  “What did you do?” He spat the question at Axel, while ignoring Demyx’s worry.

“Me!?!” Axel gaped, “Why does everyone always blame me when something goes wrong?”

“Prolly because you’re the cause of everyone’s problems.” Roxas chuckled evilly, receiving a sharp elbow to the side.

Demyx was still gently running his fingers through Larxene’s hair, calling to her in a worried tone, “It’s worse this time, it’s worse than it was with Mar Mar...” he was whispering then his voiced faded to silence.

Zexion flicked his eyes down at Demyx then back at Axel, he was about to bark the question at the pyromaniac again but his words froze in his throat as he witnessed something he’d never seen in all his time as a nobody.  Rage; pure unadulterated fury, had snapped suddenly like the crack of thunder from a lightning storm.  

Within a matter of a second Marluxia had crossed the room, doubling back his fist and planted it squarely into Axel’s jaw. The force of the blow slammed Axel back against the wall, temporarily dazing him.  By the time the red head’s mind cleared after being so fiercely rattled he realized he couldn’t breathe, long fingers were tightening around his neck, cutting off the flow of air.  

“R..Ro...” Axel panicked, starting to call for his friend but silenced as the hand squeezed tighter and pinned him to the wall, his feet couldn’t even touch the ground anymore.  He dangled from the grasp around his throat like a rag doll.

“I swear upon all things holy that I will kill you if she is dead.” Marluxia breathed, the threat coming out more like the growl of an enraged lion.

Roxas lunged for Marluxia, trying to use the force of his body to make the taller Nobody step back off his friend. Yet it failed; hitting Marluxia’s chest was like hitting a brick wall, all Roxas could do was push and try to pry the hand from Axel.

“Demyx! Help!!” Roxas cried, still stunned that he couldn’t make Marluxia budge even an inch.

Demyx twitched, his name being called snapping him out of his stupor as the sight continued unfolding before him.  Within seconds he was on his feet, trying to pry the Graceful Assassin away with every ounce of his strength.

“She’s ok Mar Mar! She’s not dead!! Let him go!” Demyx was pulling on the fabric of Marluxia’s shirt now, a tearing noise sounding out as one of his buttons ripped off and fell to the floor.  “PLEASE!! LARUMIA!”

Recognition flashed through Marluxia’s eyes partially hidden beneath cherry colored bangs.  The desperation and fear in the musician’s voice seemed to finally reach the ears of the assassin.  Marluxia released Axel’s neck, watching as the other man coughed and slid to the ground.  His hand then rested on golden-blonde spiky locks of hair as he pushed Roxas away from him with the same amount of ease he would have thrown a doll.

Zexion just watched, his jaw slack in disbelieve.  He just witnessed something he’d never seen a Nobody do before; the pure rage and fear, not for the concern of their own body but that of another.  It wasn’t a rehearsed act, he could see so clearly the fury that burned violently behind those blue eyes.  Nobody’s lacked hearts; therefore they should not feel emotional attachments to anything, especially for someone else.   Their emotions were lost; selfishness and self preservation seemed to rule their thinking now, so why would Marluxia do something like that?  Why would he become enraged at the thought of losing Larxene?

And what had Demyx called him?

Something had unlocked the emotions, somehow the part of Marluxia that had been lost to the darkness was returning, perhaps not entirely, but in some way he had regained part of himself.  It all seemed strangely theoretically familiar.  

Zexion gasped suddenly, his thoughts twisted completely around from the questions on the tip of his tongue to something else.  Back to something he had been told a while ago while in Vexen’s lab.

Vexen had been studying the heart once again; stumbling across something he had called the “essence of the heart”.  But it was a volatile substance; he had quickly labeled it as a potential weapon against Nobodies rather than a help.  What he had hoped would bring back their lost hearts only filled them with an intense unstable emotional imbalance. It was unfit for testing on a Nobody of their level for all the smaller ones had either ceased to exist or gone insane.

“You idiot... You stole the Essence from Vexen’s lab?” Zexion gasped.

Demyx turned, “Essence? Zexy, you know what this is? Can you help Mar Mar?”

Zexion seemed to retreat back into his mind for a moment, searching his memory for answers as though he were looking it up in one of his books.  “I think... There is something that can be done.  We need to...”

“Ugh” Larxene shifted in Zexion’s arms, dark lashes fluttering for a moment before she weakly gazed up into the three faces hovering over her.  

The second the sound had escaped her petal colored lips Marluxia and Demyx had returned to her side, waiting with worry etched across their faces. She caught both their gazes; her befuddled look shifting to something more like that of tender affection.  A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, her eyes finally had a sparkle of amusement glistening behind them.  

“Were you two worried about me?” Her voice was faint, but the tone was so soft and gentle, like nothing they had ever heard before.

Both shook their heads stupidly in affirmation, watching as she tried to sit up with help from Zexion, who now seemed highly alarmed by her gentle reactions.  

Once she was somewhat sturdy on her feet she flung her arms around Marluxia’s neck, giving him a squeeze, “I’m so lucky to have friends like you!” She sniffled as she reached out and grabbed Demyx by his little black tank top and pulled him into a group hug. “What would I do without you?! I love you guys!”

The sniffles turned into all out tears of joy as she planted friendly kisses on both their cheeks.  Demyx stepped back absently rubbing the spot on his cheek, confused yet strangely happy, “Larxy, are you ok?”
“Shhhhh, she’s fine...” Marluxia snorted at Demyx, then gazed lovingly back at the object of his affection that now seemed to care about him too, “We love you too... Me more than him... well just me... I love you... forget Demyx.”

“That’s...” Roxas fidgeted; rolling his eyes back at Axel who was also staring slack jawed at the display of affection.

“Scary beyond all reason...” Axel’s eye twitched as he finished Roxas’ statement.

“You did.” Zexion interrupted, shaking his head and tearing his gaze away from the train wreck happening in his room.  “Axel, you stole the Elixir that Vexen had in the lab, didn’t you?! That’s why he’s been running around like a mad man!”

“Who? Me?” Axel made a show of looking innocent, “Of course not! Vexen is always running around like he’s one OAV short of a series; don’t use me as an excuse.”

“Then how do you explain this sudden flood of emotional trauma in beings that SHOULDN’T be emotional!? Didn’t you learn ANYTHING from your last stunt?” Zexion growled taking a threatening step towards the Flurry and his little buddy; a tug on his black coat stopped him.

“Zexion don’t...” that eerily gentle voice.  Inwardly Zexion wondered if this side of Larxene was even scarier than the screeching banshee she once was.

He slowly turned to find Larxene staring at him, a smile on her face.  The look was pleasant but it had the opposite effect on the Schemer.  He felt a cold chill run down his spine as she stepped closer.

“I don’t remember much, my head feels kinda fuzzy right now, but I remember that you caught me, Zexion.  Thank you.” A light blush crept over her face as she spoke, “I don’t know how I can ever repay you for your kindness... You’re so sweet, I always thought so but for some reason I couldn’t say so...”

Zexion blinked, instinct forcing him to lean back, but morbid curiosity keeping him from bolting from her grasp on his sleeve.  “Its fine, Larxene, don’t worry about...”

All coherent thoughts came to a grinding, screeching halt.  All the questions, the worry, the irritation at Axel’s stupidity; all melted before this foreign sensation that silenced his words. The only thing that now registered in the cloaked schemer’s mind was the sudden feeling of soft lips against his in a light kiss.

Zexion’s last coherent thought was a mental slap to himself for letting something like this happen, he could still hear Axel’s maniacal laughter echoing in his head the second she had kissed him, taunting him, reminding him of his folly. One should never let their guard down around the Flurry of Dancing Flames, or they get burned.

The hideous laughter shifted into something else entirely, wailing sounds of humans screaming in pain, the hearts breaking, worlds dying, the horrible sounds and images of heartless being born from the darkness.  

The sounds of his sins against all the worlds.  

Memories slammed his mind, the pain in his chest returned to him in full, the terror he felt the day his somebody died and he had been reborn as Nobody.  Everything came back to him as though it were still happening, his own screams shattering the stillness of the room and mingling with the memories pounding in his own mind.

Then everything was dark and silent once again.


~Track 5 End: Love Stoned

The Crimson Elixir, the Essence of the Heart... a substance that returns a Nobody to the state just before they turned? Or is it something else entirely... Only Vexen holds the answers to the secrets swirling around that tiny little flask. But will Axel stop his tests before he single handedly brings down the entire Organization? And what about Zexion? Now that he’s been infected with emotion what will become of him?

To be continued in Track 6: Sympathy for the Martyr