Swallowed. [Open]

[Cinnamon]

Zexion hadn't been in the best mood today, he noted. The stench of bile from the innards of a whale was rather...putrid. His head carried a dull ache at the eyes and nose, and he couldn't seem to take a step without that ache traveling to the back of his head as well. Our poor young man had a migraine. He had peered around, hoping to see if there was anything that could distract him, but found that his eyes were far too sensitive to satisfy his pain. Irritated, the young man had pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled, his unoccupied hand resting at the small curve of his waist.

After a while of inhaling the horrid smells, he decided to go to a quiet, dark area and nap. However, he knew that danger would follow him and made sure to keep a close eye out as he traveled to a broken down boat. At least in there he would be safer from the digestive fluids. He grumbled and made his way, peeking this way and that, and decided that it was safe enough to venture down into the dark hole within the side of a fairly large vessel. He heard no moaning, or the clattering of metal, which meant injured people and Heartless were nowhere to be found. To be honest, Zexion was completely content with that, to be honest. His hands flicked to his side and he grasped his beloved book; the Lexicon, and held it close to his body as he sat on a dusty chair. He could always pat out the dust from his cloak later...

But sadly, things were not on Zexion's side today, as the pungent smell of decay filled his nostrils. Coughing violently, he clutched his head and leaned against the wall that was infested with termites and the rot of water sloshing onto its sides. And in that brief moment, he shouted in dismay as he fell through, covered in the disgusting grime that came along with it. Moonshine hair now had a mucus green tint to it...gross. A furious expression covered his face, but he felt nothing more than the light pang of irritation. For a brief moment, he could have sworn he was wishing that the boat and the whale would simply disappear. And then he paused, blinking. Did he really want them to vanish? To never have a chance, or leave a trace of their existence? He frowned and shook his head lightly, his grimy hair forming a curtain in front of his face. No. He really didn't want to be the one responsible for the failure of another person.

For now, the bookworm would dwell in his self-proclaimed misery, covered in grime from a whale, stuck in this place to retrieve an object from this... mission. He stood up straight. Wow, he really needed to get a grip. If only he had some mints with him, he would gladly use them as an air freshener for the area around him. Perhaps a water bottle would have been nice so he could have rinsed out his hair! Snorting, he went back into the ship, deciding to sit in the middle on a barrel that had been untouched by severe decay.

A noise intercepted his thoughts and the young looking man pushed his hair out of his face, calculative, teal eyes peering around. Who's there? The illusionist stated bluntly, irritated that no matter how hard he tried to ignore his headache, it would simply come back. Though, gratefully, it was down to a dull roar, rather than hurting every step...it hurt every four of five.

OOC: Sooo sorry for the super-mega-horribly-awesome-wicked-sweet-bitter-savory post of delicious wording. If you dare reply, please do! No pressure to post as long as me. xD I doubt I could pull out another one of these if I tried.

[axie]

What were you trying to do?

The thought was not like the others. It caught and held, solidifying but still as weightless as a feather on the wind. Existence evaded him.

What were you trying to do, Axel?

The name clicked into place. It--he--was something called Axel. Someone. No one--nothing--but...

What was it?

His memory skipped like a record, needle desperately seeking even ground to play it all back. It'd been important. He was starting to sense it all again...something happened back there.

I wanted...[/color]

Identity was a dull flicker, memories a miasma of clouded images, and his body was a ghost's dream.

But what were you trying to DO?

I had to see--just one more time--

Roxas.[/color]

And like that every memory and sensation and feeling--real or imagined--piled on like he'd just unlocked the door to himself, crushing him with their weight. It was too heavy to breathe--Axel gasped and there was no air, opened his eyes and saw only stars. The middle of space was colder than he could have imagined and in a moment it would wipe him from existence entirely--again--with darkness and light enclosing on all sides. As the darkness took him, Axel had only a second to wonder which light belonged to Roxas and no time to reach out to it.

Then he hit something spongy and landed in muck.

Drowning after suffocating was not the way to go, and Axel wasn't good about yielding to water. This didn't feel like it, though, and maybe the warmth of it was the only thing that kept him from fizzling out right there--even if it was slimy, too. He dragged himself to the surface with a gasp and dog-paddled in a panic, realizing quickly that solid ground was right at his toes. Well, solid in a way--it squished too, but sand tended to do that, so he half-waded, half-crawled out of the pool of it and stopped to breathe. Resting his pounding forehead against his arm and willing away these moments only helped so much, but it got a few seconds to pass. Once he was pretty sure he wasn't at death's door anymore, Axel looked up.

He was in a giant mouth.

Forehead met arm again and he sighed out a groan. Part of him wanted to yelp and turn all this saliva to vapor, part of him knew this had to be a hallucination since he wasn't even supposed to be alive (maybe it was hell? Where was the fire?), and most of him still wanted to collapse and stay that way.

"Who's there?"

Oh.

Yeah, this was probably hell.

[Marluxia]

Disgusting. This place was just so disgusting. There was no better way to put it. Saliva dripped from the walls, and stomach acid threatened to devour one live, if they chose to step in the wrong place.

Luckily, Marluxia was careful enough not to step in these places, and hadn't stood on the drool coated tongue of the monster long enough to slip, or be licked. The man didn't fancy the thought of drool eating his jacket, let alone his skin and hair.

Passing by a body of liquid, a bubble popped, causing the assassin to jump away, avoiding all but a drop of the fluid. Repulsive.

What had led him into the bowels of this creature? Was it punishment?

After all, I'm a 'traitor.'

It had seemed like seconds after being pardoned, he was instantly told to come here and find a key. Why a key, he wasn't certain. Nor did he really care. He just wanted it done and over with. This key could hold some importance to the Superior. Or not. But he didn't see why the nobody would want it for just decoration.

After all, it had to be covered in slime from the whale's insides. The pink haired man dreaded actually trying to find the key.

So far, he'd been here for an irritating amount of time. He didn't even know what the key looked like. For all he knew, it could be the size of a needle. He was hoping for one more the size of his hand, however.

Having been hunting for far too long, the man decided to just begin walking in a random direction. If he found the thing he was hunting for, he would find it. Otherwise, he would just stick around in this horrid-odored place for a day or so and return, reeking, to say that it was unable to be located.

Suddenly, something caught the nobody's eyes. Red. Spiky red.

No. This is horrible luck.

Rolling blue eyes, he exhaled silently, before making his way to the other nobody. This was the nobody that had ruined everything for him. He could only assume that this was intentional. To be watched.

"What are you doing here?" Although he had thought that another familiar voice had sounded, that was not Axel's, only a moment prior, he made no movement to locate the sound. For all he knew, it was just his imagination. And eyes should not be removed from the one that he currently stared at. Anyone else was unimportant at this second. Especially if they were truly nothing.

[Cinnamon]

Red and pink. The most horrid duo ever. And to ad to it, there was white to balance it out! Shuddering as he registered these voices and faces, he moved out from the inside of the boat, peering around, quite unhappy to see them. For one, he was tired, two, he was hungry, and three, he needed to get this mission done and quit dawdling.

What mission, you ask? It was quite simple, he had to retrieve a small trinket, out of one of the many boats that were here. But the one boat that he was looking for was quite on the Nordic side, a mermaid upon the front holding up the object that The Superior had ordered them to get. Of course, as you'd have it, it was at the very back. He could see her rotting arms stretching up, and the dull glimmer of the object, layered in mucus and mold from the warm, wet environment. Oh goody. Peering back at Axel, then spotting Marluxia in the distance, he thought it best to remain quiet about the specs on the mission, and continue his merry way down deeper into the beast.

Why did he settle for the dangerously-lame jobs, anyways? A loud whine came through the cavern and he stiffened, peering up. He knew that whine already. He had to hurry before it opened up it's mouth again. It's best you both depart from here as soon as you can. This isn't the place for any of us to be. Analyzing the area before him, he found a good place to land, upon a raft that had come in with him. It was vacant, but in good condition. He could land there if he really wanted to jump. Stepping back for a moment, he pushed off with his legs. One soaring leap, one victory for Zexion. He landed with feline grace upon the center of the raft, looking back at them. At least his hair was feeling...less grimy.

The Organization member glanced back every so often, wondering if the others were following, but could honestly care less. He just liked knowing if people were behind him, so he could brace any oncoming attacks. Deeper into the yawning mouth he went, and the noise sounded again, shaking things, making aged wood break and fall, splashing into the bile below. The question then popped up into his head. What were they doing here? Did they unknowingly teleport? Thinking of this, he hadn't realized how close to the back of the whale he had gotten. Mildly inspired by how thought made you lose track of time, he thought to write it down. Oh, if only he had a pen.

Dragging himself out of his thoughts, Zexion reached the mermaid carving and jumped up briefly, peeking up and saw the gentle glimmer of the object. Falling down, he jumped up again and grabbed it, examining it as he landed. How peculiar.

It was an orb colored like a ruby, wrapped in golden trim like ivy. It was dull, so he assumed it was going to be a bright, poppy red when it was actually washed, and the gold would be shinier. Opening Lexicon, he quickly dispersed it within, shutting it, attaching the book to his belt, and launched into the air towards the two Organization members again, We should leave before it opens it's mouth. Tilting his head to the side, he thought of another good place to go. Meet you on the top of this whale. And with that, Zexion vanished to the top of the whale, near the back and sat down, a little tired of standing.

[axie]

So it wasn't enough that Zexion showed, but Marluxia was right there too in another second. He was zeroing in on prey like the Graceful Assassin he was and Axel couldn't stumble to his feet fast enough. "Me?! I cou--" a glance in Zexion's direction, but either the guy was deep inside the boat or Axel had imagined it. "I should be askin' you that. How'd--are we..." A sinking feeling seemed tangible enough to be real in the pit of Axel's stomach. If they were all back, that meant Vexen was around here somewhere too. And Larxene. And Saïx, i.e. the number one guy besides Xemnas that Axel did not need to run into.

But that was only if they were really alive. Marluxia aside, Zexion didn't seem too interested in either of them and just vanished through a portal, leaving Axel blinking and befuddled. Sure, he didn't expect Zexion to necessarily throw a tantrum about the whole "killed you with Riku's Replica, lol," thing, but the fact that he wasn't upset rattled Axel. Maybe that invitation was a death wish. Axel certainly hadn't had a lot of success breathing when he was out in space.

So, right. Following Zexion meant a cunning and calculated demise, and staying behind with Marluxia meant a violent and bloody one. Neither Axel's wits nor his body were prepared to deal with either of those right now, but considering he didn't think he had the juice to pull a portal right now without an instant replay of his own eradication, physics made the choice easy. Axel knew that Marluxia was light on his feet, knew that Marluxia was probably energized enough to pull that petal teleport thing, and knew that this was neither a fight he could win nor a chase he could escape from.

And thus, the Flurry of Dancing Flames spread his slender arms like he expected to be shackled soon. "Guess I got eight more lives. What's your story?"

If he was lucky, Marluxia might toy with him long enough to let him give the Assassin the slip. If he wasn't...well, he got to test that eight lives theory. On the bright side, if this was truly hell, it might not even kill him.

[Marluxia]

Axel seemed more than flustered, in Marluxia's opinion. He ignored the half-asked questions, finding them completely irrelevant, if they couldn't be finished. Having heard Zexion's voice, and fully recognizing it, his eyes only flickered for a second toward the sound, to acknowledge it. "So Superior did not send you to watch me, again?" his blue eyes blinked a single time, almost as though they didn't dare leave the other for over half of a second.

With a short pause, the man smirked, "eight? Hardly. Wouldn't this be the third time you would be 'alive'?"

Thinking about it, it would be accurate. Once he was alive as a human. Then a nobody. And once again, a nobody.

"Better that you keep tabs on your numbers. You may run out." Having not witnessed the death of Axel, he could really only assume that it had happened. After all, why would Axel have been the only one left 'alive'? He hadn't found how any of the others had died, or when they had, but it wasn't really important to him. "After all, I can't imagine that everyone's forgotten your," a quick pause slipped on the pink haired man's tongue, "hospitality." Surely Axel knew what Marluxia meant. Especially since he was one of those that Axel had more-than-irritated before their demise. He could only imagine Vexen's satisfaction once he would see that the Flurry of Dancing Flames had returned. It would prove quite amusing.

"Since you are here, and clearly clueless as to what you're doing," the man paused, brushing hair from his face, petals fluttering in the process, "would you happen to know," the words trailed off, as his hand found its way into his pocket. Silence filled him, and his eyes narrowed. The sudden feeling that he had been sent on a wild goose-chase formed in the pit of his stomach.

There was something in his pocket.

A key.

If the man had emotions, he probably would have spun away, yelling and immediately leaving. Instead, the annoyed look settled on his face, debating on how long it had been there. Had they just set him up to see how stupid he was? Or did the key somehow fall into his pocket when he had been searching?

Regardless, it was ridiculous.

"Nevermind." Somehow, he kept his monotone voice steady.

Although Marluxia knew nothing of Axel having been the cause of Zexion's death, he reached out, to grab the man's arm. He hadn't the wits about him to even think, it seemed, so the task of simply grabbing him, he doubted, would be much of a struggle. "Why don't we see what Zexion was here for? After all, it can't be coincidence that the three of us are in the same place, can it?" Perhaps, the last word came off rough, a dark portal forming behind him in a puff of flower petals.

As he took a step back, into the portal, he made it his duty to try to pull Axel through it with him, and if he failed to, he would just have to try it until he could succeed to bring the man to the location, conscious or not. After all, the portal would take them directly next to the spot that Zexion was.

[Cinnamon]

Sadly, they'd find things to be a bit boring. Zexion had begun to read Lexicon from page to page. How many times had he read this? He couldn't recall, but he knew it was the one thing he admired. He knew what admiration was because of it, and that made him rather content.

But are you really content, Zexion?

Jolting he looked around, placing a hand to his head and one against where he assumed a heart would be. Where he remembered it would be if he had one. Feeling exposed, he clutched the beloved text against his chest, looking around and calling out as a naive child would. After all there was someone trying to talk in his head. He prayed there wouldn't be an answer.

Not quite, I suppose. It seemed as if he was right, sighing in relief, he brushed his shoulders and hooked Lexicon onto the bookmark-like belt he had made for it. He wasn't going to let it slow him down like it did in past battles, or if he would have to escape. Grimacing at the thought of losing to...that...dolt, he felt his own bile rise up and remembered that he smelled quite putrid. A shower was in order as soon as he got home. Looking around, he made a step to the left and the voice popped up again.

What is ailing you, might I inquire?

At the same time, the whale squealed. He jumped and things linked up one by one Since when...could I talk to animals?[/color] Clearing his throat, he crossed arms over chest and shifted his weight onto the other foot. He hadn't realized he was leaning on the other until the sore pain came back. Frowning, he looked at the whale's blue skin. I want to feel...

Bah. Why do you think I eat people?

Well. That was surprising.

The others arrived and he looked at them, feeling rather short-handed. Or maybe short in general, and fidgeted with his hair again, We should get off of this whale. It disgusts me. Honestly, it kind of did. A whale that ate people in hopes to feel? It sounded like a Heartless! Then again, maybe it was.

[axie]

Axel might have been tempted to roll his eyes and flap his fingers as Marluxia yapped away with empty threats, but he didn't see the point of digging himself in deeper. Marluxia was right, after all, about watching his step--not that it was advice Axel ever disregarded--but if Zexion was any indication, Vexen would probably just curl his lip and ask passive-aggressive questions about his stay in hell. Unless this was hell, in which case Axel was starting to think it wasn't so bad.

When Marluxia trailed off and got a distant, thoughtful expression on his face, Axel set his hands on his hips and leaned in slightly to cock his head to one side. "Yeah?"

"Never mind."

Alright then. Chances were it was just something that Marluxia realized belatedly that Axel couldn't possibly know, or maybe he just didn't trust the Flurry to know it. From such a dismissive display, Axel didn't suspect it was anything Marluxia wanted to keep secret, but he knew better than to underestimate the Graceful Assassin and quietly filed that away for later cogitation.

Axel started when Marluxia started grabbing for him like a friggin' kidnapper, and he twitched back like a snake just in time to avoid the first grab but not the second. He wasn't up to speed and his strength was drained, so it was with a steady stream of "Hey c'mon what're you pullin' here, man? I know where the castle's at you don't gotta--whadd'you mean the three of us? Like fate or some kinda--ow, watch the--" that he stumbled through the portal and out onto the whale's back.

The air did seem thinner here, but maybe that was Axel's imagination from the terrifying breathlessness before. At least he could breathe, though, and he hesitated, distracted again by the stars.

"We should get off of this whale. It disgusts me."

Jade eyes flickered back to Zexion and narrowed. "Then what the hell're you doin' here in the first place?"

[Marluxia]

Finally getting the man, and making his way through the portal, Marluxia seemed satisfied. Although it had seemed like Axel could talk more than he did, when it came to just babbling away stupidly while being pulled along. Then, Zexion mentioned leaving. He had almost asked the same thing that Axel had, in different wording, but was seconds too late.

At this point, he had released his grip on the other man's arm, not really wanting to hold physical contact with the other for an unnecessary amount of time. Or at all, really. He didn't favor the redhead, and felt that the feeling was mutual.

"Why did you tell us to come up here, then?"

Tactless? Zexion? Highly doubtable. But to drag the two up here, just to leave... seemed to hold little meaning.

Getting a better look at Zexion, it looked like the man needed a shower, too. Quite badly. Marluxia made note not to touch him. Of course, he didn't intend to, anyway. But how his hair looked.. it just seemed slimy. The assassin didn't fancy slimy.

Still, Axel was the main focus for the pink haired man. Even though, at this state, he seemed to hold no threat to the man, he didn't want to take a risk. Who knew? Maybe Axel wasn't actually as pitiful as he was acting. Or he wasn't acting and Marluxia was merely over-estimating him.

Either was a possibility, he supposed.

Shifting his weight, he looked down at the whale's body beneath him. He wasn't really too fond of whales. Especially giant, space whales that ate ships and people. But he didn't really understand what had made the shortest of the three want to leave with such haste.

Brushing his hair away from his face, flower petals once again fluttered around him. The air outside of the whale felt less comfortable, but had less of a smell. The man was uncertain which was better, really. Then again, he wasn't too big on the thought of being inside of a whale, either.

[Cinnamon]

Having no particular interest in the others, he stood and wandered toward the tail of the whale. It was true, he wanted to leave the whale. However, Zexion was trying to remember where to go and what it felt like to go there. You see, when you traveled the way that he learned to, you had to memorize the feel, the scents previous and new. Otherwise he could get sent to some place like the Deep Jungle. Sighing, he shivered and thought of how badly he needed a shower. He could just appear in one, but he wouldn't want to see a woman naked. Let alone a man.

In a state of mild disgust, he looked around and patted at his sides, heels rising so the balls of his feet supported his weight. He knew one thing. The place he wanted to go was clean...and very bright...for the most part.

To get away from the stench of course. He mentioned as Marluxia questioned him. The bookworm then ignored the rest of the questions. Rolling his shoulders, he felt the darkness begin to swirl around his feet. Earlier, it was easy, he had just wanted to get onto the slippery back of this whale. Now it was traveling to a whole other place. He'd rather be successful, rather than missing a limb. Urgh. This stench! He turned towards the others, cloak billowing through it's grime, and gave a courteous nod of the head.

I should get going. I'll leave you two to make up your own minds as to where you'll go....or what you'll do. Zexion was engulfed within the darkness, sent back to The World That Never Was...his home. Maybe then, he could get clean and relax.

He rather adored being clean.

However. It seemed things weren't going his way. With a large burst of power, he fell back and hit the top of the whale, groaning and rubbing his head. Zexion pondered. Did he forget something? Was there something else he needed to get? A furious expression placed on his face and he stomped, hands knitting into hair.

Why won't it let me leave? As a test, another try was made and he smacked back onto the whale's sided again, leaving it to groan at him in distaste. Rolling his eyes, he stalked up past the two, even daring to push them out of the way if they tried to stand, and he'd snap his fingers, going back inside of the whale in an intense rage.

What in this world do I need? I have the orb. Appearing next to it, he stared, and then realized in the distance, there was a replica of the ship with a blue orb. Oh great. There were two. Thanks. Thanks a lot. He could have gotten that information on the specs. Going over and yanking it out, a loud groan echoed through the innards of the whale, making him pale and step away from the ship.

He...just...unleashed something. Didn't he?

[axie]

Something got into Zexion's cereal alright.

Between nary a word about Riku Replica, the bizarre request to follow, and his abrupt disappearance, Zexion's motives couldn't be more impenetrable if he coded them in Chinese limericks. With Marluxia playing loyal duckling, for that matter, something else was off. Maybe he was waiting to see the results of some kind of meddling...?

So once Zexion got done flouncing around irritably and finally got out of the world--or wherever he went--Axel crossed his arms and looked to Marluxia with an intrigued expression.

"Alright spill. What'd you feed him?"

The Zexion that Axel remembered would never be this disorganized or illogical. Or this fussy, even. Hell, they used to place bets on who'd die next, knowing full well that both of them were in Sora's sights. It astonished Axel even more that the guy was willing to endure not only Axel's company, but Axel's and Marluxia's. He didn't get it. Clearly drugs were involved.

That or this was hell, in which case it didn't live up to the hype at all and Axel would have to get ahold of whatever Zexion was smoking.

But the back of the whale, damn it all, was still slippery--so when it shook with a groan that thrummed all the way up to Axel's ears, he started and lost his balance completely with a wet, rubbery squeak. Why the whale sounded like a life raft or water slide was something Axel preferred not to think about. "...What was that?" he asked instead from the ground, voice subdued and eyes wide. If something pissed off the whale, they were kind of in the middle of space. All the thing had to do was pull a loop-de-loop and they were screwed to hell and back.

And maybe this time it'd really be hell.

[Marluxia]

Watching Zexion's strange display, Marluxia was left clueless. Before he had the chance to question the small man, he had already disappeared. Strange...

At Axel's question, the man could only scoff, "as if I would feed Zexion." Though it did pose a good question. It seemed Axel was clueless to what had just happened, as well. It kind of seemed as though Zexion had gone insane. It was possible, he supposed, but likely? Surely not.

The groan had emitted even outside of the whale, causing the pink haired assassin to look at Axel, almost as if accusing him of being the cause. "I would rather not find out," was his only answer, as he summoned another flowery portal, intending on getting off of the whale.

For a second, he even debated on bringing Axel along. Just to be nice. But, no. He figured that whatever the whale would have in store for them, if they remained, would serve as an idea of how Marluxia felt toward the redhead, if left alone.

But, to his surprise, he found what had stopped Zexion.

The second he stepped into it, the portal seemed almost to explode, sending him back from it, and onto the whale. Keeping to his title, the Graceful Assassin landed on his feet, but had been forced to lean forward, one hand resting on the whale, just in front of his feet, as if trying to come to terms with the strange event.

"We can't," he paused, sounding almost confused, "leave?"

A barrier of some sort prevented the portals from allowing them to exit. Silently, Marluxia debated on what had happened. Then, his mind wandered to Zexion. He had gone somewhere, hadn't he? It seemed quite obviously not off of the whale, after having experienced the same result. Did that mean that the other man had an idea of what was happening?

Brushing hair from his face, the pink haired man sighed, looking to Axel. The expression on his face would have made him laugh, if he could feel how humorous it really was.

"It may be less dangerous inside the whale," he mumbled to the other.If Zexion had gone someplace, and not off of the whale, it surely meant that he was still located someplace within. If the portal worked for him, it would have to work for Marluxia as well, right? "And we may want words with Zexion."

Now, a portal appeared, again. Inhaling, deeply, the blue eyed man held his gaze on the other organization member. "I suggest you follow, if this doesn't explode when I step in. Unless you would rather find out what the whale may do to those on the outside of it's body."

Marluxia honestly had no idea, but if the whale was pained in any form, it could thrash about, and he didn't fancy being tossed into space. Surely, nobody would blame him for this feeling.

Stepping into the portal, and holding it open for Axel, luck had shone upon him, as it didn't burst. Of course, the portal would only hold open for so long on one end, as Marluxia had already moved into it, and found himself exiting into the body of the creature.

A short distance away, he could see Zexion, yet remained near his portal, in attempt to leave it open as long as required to allow Axel an exit. It almost intrigued him to think about the thoughts that Axel could be having, from the options. Stay on the whale and hope that it didn't do anything to harm him, or enter a flowery portal that could lead him almost anywhere. Especially since the pink haired man had been oh-so kind as to leave it open for him.

"Zexion," he called out to the teenage-sized body. "What is the meaning of this?"

If it wasn't obvious to the bookworm as to what was happening, surely Marluxia wouldn't know. He was a few moments behind Zexion's finding of not being able to even exit Monstro, let alone what had just happened inside the whale, but could only expect the other to shed light upon the situation.

[Cinnamon]

I was on a mission to retrieve these, but I assume the Superior had ulterior motives. Zexion muttered, calming down a bit. He was irate, he felt filthy, he was irritated that he couldn't get off of the whale still, though he had the objects, and to make it worse, there were the others from the Organization, and they weren't doing a thing to help him. It seemed they wanted to have their petty socialization time.

A roar rose deep within the back of the whale and Zexion paled a bit, choking as his throat closed up from a horrid stench. Oh. My. God. What was that? Feeling bile rise up in the back of his throat, he decided his previous smell was far better than what was tumbling into view, moving his sleeve to cover his mouth and jumped back. It...was a giant cat. A grimy cat with a hole that exposed it's insides, entrails following it about as grime and bile let it decay and reform. It seemed someone had forgotten their cat when they had left this place. Or it died, but had a strong enough will to become something...something not quite a Heartless. It seemed the item was enchanted, that laid within it's gut.

Looking back to the two, he jumped a little closer to them, and that's when he saw it as the feline-corpse turned, Inside of it's stomach was a giant green orb wrapped in gold. Just like the two smaller ones that he had obtained. Primary colors. The colors that blend to make all colors, and give things meaning.[/color] He thought to himself, pursing his lips. Why would this be important to the Superior? Biting his lip, he looked to Axel and gave a small smirk, continuing to cover his mouth shortly after.

Muffled, he spoke. First one to get three limbs out of four gets a prize of their choice from the other two.

A bet reached his eyes, giving Zexion a rather daring, challenging, and playful look. However, as he pulled Lexicon from his side, he waved it open and the game began. Books fluttered out into the open and made the feline pause before hissing and charging forward, sending bile splashing everywhere. This was going to be a rather dangerous battle.

He didn't want to die. Zexion didn't want to make any bets on death either. He'd rather it go right back to the way it was before the betrayal. Power was of no objective to him now. Not since he experienced death. Waving once more, his books shot forward, unleashing slivers of paper that ran along the sides, trying to get the orb out before damage ensued. He should mention that part of his mission to them before they went ape-crazy... Especially Axel. He wasn't sure if the gem would explode or not by contact with fire.

Don't attack it's stomach. I need an orb from there. Once it's out, feel free. A simple notification as paper began to wrap around the orb, and slowly, he severed it from the undead cat's body, However, there seemed to be bile eating away at the paper from the inside too, leaving his plan a bit off the chart. Hm... Maybe he could teleport into the feline.

Gross. But it just might work. He'd just wait for it to miss a limb or two.

[axie]

Axel'd had just about enough. While he wasn't sure why the portals were backfiring on Marluxia and Zexion, of all people, he chalked it up to either them forgetting or the Corridors getting to be a lot more dangerous. Either way, it meant he didn't want to try for anywhere far off.

Marluxia's portal he didn't trust. Not after that many failures. So instead, and grumbling about the power he had to forfeit to do so, Axel called one back into the whale. Darkness sucked dizzyingly at his veins--at his consciousness--and threatened to send smoky tendrils curling up from his body again. But he made it through like everything, and once he realized that neither Zexion nor Marluxia were on Geppetto's old ship, he was free to collapse to his hands and knees and breathe. It was humid in here, and sweating didn't help the fact that he was still covered in whale saliva--mostly dried but not forgotten.

Once he'd caught his breath, and was sure--again--that he wasn't going to be disappearing anytime soon, Axel rose and leaned against the ship's slightly rotted railing. He squinted at whatever it was Zexion intended to fight, twitching back when he saw the extent of the damage to whatever had once been a cat. The Organization's Number Six didn't look eager to fight it, either--which made Axel smirk. Zexion never was one to get his hands dirty. "Break a leg!" he called jovially, oblivious to whatever Zexion said under the cover of his sleeve. Axel wasn't as certain about Marluxia, but if Zexion thought he could get the redhead to work with him on a mission Axel had nothing to do with, the kid had another thing coming. Sure, it might not be the best strategy after coming back from the dead, and if Axel got the opportunity he might spare Zexion's life just to set them even, but he wasn't keen on rejoining oblivion for the bookworm's sake. Any rebuke later would be met with the fact that Axel was not about to risk everything in vain, but more likely than not he was going to have to run again anyway.

So, leaving the zombie cat to Zexion, he saluted sarcastically and turned back to start rummaging through the old ship's quarters. There wasn't likely to be any edible food in there, but that didn't mean he couldn't scrounge up something useful--and especially when another portal might just wipe him out, Axel was in no hurry to leave.

[Marluxia]

Looking at the cat, the Graceful Assassin backed up, his portal closing in a puff of petals. If he wouldn't just end up on the outside of the whale again, he would have used the corridor to promptly exit. But he was unable to. Such an irritation.

It had probably been best that Axel had portalled himself, as the pink haired man realized that there had been a chance he would have closed him into it, regardless, from not fully expecting the cat.

Really, the monster in front of him reeked. Why would he go near it? It looked to be a death sentence, and after his last one, he wasn't too fond of the thought. Why today, of all days, had he been forced to come here? Just conveniently the same day as Zexion had to awaken a horrid cat?

Was this the Organization's way of revenge? Send him out to a disgusting, drippy whale, where he would encounter an even more disgusting, decaying feline, courtesy of another member. Really, it wouldn't surprise him if it were the case. Though, if he mentioned it to Superior, surely he would deny it. Or even chuckle at the thought of such an act.

"And what could you possibly have that I would desire?" he threw a glance at Zexion. As a precaution, a pink petal fluttered down to Marluxia's hand, forming into his weapon, which only hung loosely in a hand. If the cat came near him, he would surely attempt to remove any limb that came in contact with him, but otherwise, he was fine with not participating.

After all, what had Zexion done for him? This only seemed a plan to use him. And, hearing Axel, there would clearly be no 'prize' from the other.

As though either of them would have something that I could want, anyway.

Spotting a large crate nearby, which seemed to have a small jewelry box inside, he moved toward it. Perhaps, if he used the key on it, it would open?

Likely not, as he had only been sent to find a key, not an object to use the key on, as well. But he did want to know the use of the key.

Reaching the crate, the man heard the cat's attention turn. Were those decaying ears able to actually hear him moving the box?

It seemed likely, as it opened it's mouth, seeming to target the man, and emitted a loud, guttural hack. The hack had been plenty warning, as the man jumped away, almost panicked, as a putrid bile shot from the rotting creature's jaws. Hearing a sizzling from the crate, he turned to see the cat's stomach acid devouring it with minimal effort.

Although only a drop touched the edge of his sleeve, he watched it disintegrate, causing a mild worry in the man's mind, at the thought of it potentially rubbing onto his flesh. To his luck, it seemed to eat away itself in the process, only taking a couple inches of his sleeve with it.

The cat's head turned again, as if tracing his movements. This wouldn't do. He didn't want to be the target for this creature. Especially since he had nothing to do with it. The bile dripped from it's patchy jawline, sizzling and eating at bits of the cat in the process. A faint gag emitted from it's throat, and Marluxia's hand flicked in the air. He didn't want to be chased around by a cat's vomit. Before it could finish it's coughing, thorn coated vines formed from flower petals, wrapping themselves around the beast's nose and mouth. Although they cut into it's face, closing it's jaws in time, bile still seeped from the corners, dripping to the 'ground' below.

Revolting.

One could only question how the whale felt about the burning bile landing inside it's body.