There's no such thing as quiet hours (Open)

[clockwatcher]

The time was already well into the night, but since it was basically always night in the World that Never Was, it did not make much of a difference to its inhabitants, especially Demyx. When it came to playing his sitar, he did not take into consideration the other Organization members, and so, he had claimed his usual spot on one of the couches in the Gre y Area, for himself and his sitar. As always, he was wearing the usual Organization hooded cloak; to wear clothing of another kind would only result in death, for the cloaks stopped the Darkness from completely enveloping the wearer. The last thing that Demyx wanted to happen, was to be absorbed by the Darkness, and fade into non-existance... once more. Once was enough, as far as he was concerned, and once was too many, at that.

Tonight, he had been struck by the random urge to work on a new tune, and instead of being cooped up in his room, he had decided to take his favourite hobby to the lounge, where the sitar's noise would undoubtably annoy more of his colleagues than if he were to stay in his room with the door firmly shut.

The young blond was sitting with his back to the couch, one leg crossed over the other, with the sitar in his lap. The hood of his cloak was down, and he was sitting in a somewhat slouched position; if he stretched out any further, he would probably slide off the couch and onto the floor. He was focused on tuning the sitar's strings, his hands moving quickly over instrument; as always, he was not trying to keep the noise down. None of it was soft music, in reality it was the only music genre that he loved: rock 'n' roll.

And sooner rather than later, the noise was bound to drive another Organizaton member up the wall, and Demyx would be subject to another lecture, on which hours it was that he could freely play music, and if the term piece and quiet meant anything to him, once more.

[axie]

The rest in Twilight Town had done him good. He still felt like a trauma patient, determinedly re-learning how to temper the darkness and coax and tease the flame, but he was no longer at death's door. Eternal Flames answered to his call, but their brothers were still locked up. Not that they wouldn't work for now, but Axel was a fan of variety, and especially since he'd be fighting off Nobodies and Heartless alike just like before he needed to have more than one way of going about it.

That meant slipping back into the World That Never Was for them, and that was suicide.

But Axel was no stranger to playing with fire.

There were things he needed to know, anyway. Had Xemnas passed on at Sora's hand just like he intended? How many Nobodies survived the onslaught? Was there even anything remotely resembling an Organization intact? What happened to Kingdom Hearts?

What happened to Sora?

Encountering Marluxia and Zexion in Monstro's stomach had told him a little. That they were alive and kicking, and apparently in cahoots, meaning that either Xemnas had been reinstated or some other member--possibly Saïx, though Axel couldn't see him keeping Zexion or Marluxia around--had taken initiative. No matter what the scenario was, it probably wasn't anything that would save him from another army of Nobodies, and TWTNW was probably still base camp, and so Axel would have to be careful.

The portal took him straight to his room, which he was surprised to see hadn't been cleaned out in his absence--probably because no one had the time for that kind of thing anymore. A quick riffling through the things there--Hi-Potion, keep that--Prominence, had to keep those, and Wildfire might come in handy--Corona he was gonna need against those Berserkers, Burnout for when he was just that, Moulin Rouge he had a soft spot for but pushed them aside anyway--Volcanics he might be happy he grabbed later, a shove to the Conformers, and Ifrit just in case. He'd only barely glanced at all his weaponry and pretty much grabbed just his favorites, but they'd have to do as they disappeared into flames. If he could've seized one more he would've, but there was only so much he could keep his mind on while it was in the ether, and these he'd have to find a new home for before he lost touch with them.

Right, so--in, grab his stuff, and out. But Axel hesitated, vaulting over the bed and feeling along the shelf--

Gone.

He really should've expected that, but he glanced around for it anyway and spotted it--two little streaks of tan against the stark white floor.

Roxas's WINNER stick had been snapped in half.

The sight sent a chill down Axel's spine, because whoever had been in here knew the significance of that stick. They knew it had come from Roxas and they knew it was important to Axel, so...

Saïx.

Axel gathered the broken pieces of two friendships in his hand and squeezed them.

Time was of the essence. He couldn't stay here--but as he reached to rip open the darkness, he heard a welcome noise. Up in the Gray Area, Demyx was plinking away. Axel'd never had a problem with Demyx, actually, and thought Sora was wasting his time by wiping out that guy instead of someone more dangerous. Like Saïx, for instance. And, as far as he knew, Demyx had never pretended to hate Axel too much.

It was still a gamble, but the Flurry of Dancing Flames couldn't have asked for a better informant.

The darkness peeled away from him and let him lean against the back of the same couch Demyx was sitting on, casting the Nocturne a coy look over his shoulder. "There's a blast from the past. How's it you're still playin' that and not a harp?"

[clockwatcher]

As Demyx lay there, sprawled out like some lazy house-cat, he began musing over the particulars of his return; what exactly happened..? Did he do something special, that guaranteed resurrection? Brows knitted together as he thought long and hard on that matter, for if it could be done once... nah, he wouldn't be able to do it again, surely. He did not dwell on that thought for much longer, though; death, and the idea of dying-again, gave him .. unpleasant feelings. The concept of death was frightening, and having already been there, done that, Demyx would do everything in his power to stop that from ha- but wait, he already did do that. And it failed! Demyx shuddered, and placed his full attention onto Arpeggio, eager to move on from that chilling train-of-thought.

The Nocturne tightened his grip on the stringed instrument, and closed his eyes; after a minute or two, he relaxed his grip and continued to pluck the sitar's strings, however, the look on his face, and his hands' movements over the sitar, became impassive.
For once, Demyx was inexpressive; there was next to no life in his gestures, no energy, no... emotion. Usually, he was a bundle of energy; the young blond did not have an 'indoor' voice, did not really consider the concept of personal space or privacy.

Back when the Organization was complete, he loved talking about the others behind their backs, and often with the only person whom Demyx really enjoyed spending time with: Xigbar.

The Nocturne plucked the strings, spiritless. He was back in the Castle, but.. where was everybody? Were they resurrected, too? Or..? Demyx gazed forlornly down at Arpeggio, and felt a weird sensation build up behind his eyes; his vision blurred, and Demyx raised one gloved hand to wipe his eyes. At that moment, a certain red-head materialized behind his couch, and addressed the Nocturne. "Whoah..!" Caught off-guard, he nearly dropped the sitar, but in doing so he lost what little grip he had on the couch, and slid off it.

Demyx, without getting up, turned on the spot in the direction of the familiar voice, which had been right behind him. His gaze settled on the cloaked figure, and all at once, Demyx' mind became crowded with endless questions, and he became overcome with emotion. In reality, they were only toned-down imitations of what he remembered about emotions, but they were pretty close to the real thing, even if they were somewhat.. exaggerated.

“Y.. you-! It’s really you, Axel..? The others, where..”

The Nocturne discarded Arpeggio, which disappeared in a very small explosion of bubbles, and got up from the ground. And in one smooth movement, he climbed onto the couch, standing on his knees with his boots hanging over the edge of the couch’s seat; facing Axel, he flung his arms around him in what could easily be called a bear-hug, (although an awkward one, due to their positions and the couch) and squeezed, as though afraid that if he let go, Axel- or Demyx, himself- would disappear.

“OH MAN..! YOUHAVENOIDEAHOWGLADIAMTOSEEYOU!!”

[axie]

He wasn't so sure how Demyx would react, but by shooting him that suspicious sliver of green over one shoulder Axel intended to look just dangerous enough to ward off any violence. The Nocturne certainly seemed surprised enough not to resort to that, and knowing Demyx he'd much rather play the pacifist. His question was odd--it sounded like he started to ask about the others, but would that mean Zexion and Marluxia hadn't returned to the castle? And--

"HJGHKHH?!"

Maybe he misjudged the guy, but it felt like a tussle and the blond didn't seem to be going for his throat just yet--so Axel snatched his will back and kept from deep-frying him some Demyx by degrees. Even if this was an impromptu homicide, Axel stood to gain nothing by lighting Demyx up--with any luck he'd realize in the next second that this was too hard and just quit. Until he did, Axel wrenched free with a harsh elbow to the armpit and all but flattened himself against the glass, fingers jagged for Eternal Flames to dance around in another second.

And the verbal diarrhea Demyx spewed right after finally made sense to him in spite of the near heart attack.

Axel blinked twice, still tense, and relaxed with a sigh that seemed to come up from his toes. "Man oh man, don't do that! My life flashed before my eyes and everything," he added somewhat sheepishly, setting one hand on his hip and scratching his head with the other. Did you somehow not hear that I'm a traitor? he almost asked, but no reason to bring that up if Demyx hadn't. Either way he could pass it off as nerves, crazy as the world was with Sora at one end of the spectrum and Xemnas at the other. Whatever made Demyx get that affectionate wasn't nerves, though, unless he wanted something. Axel'd seen him give Roxas a pat on the head and send the kid off on one of Demyx's missions from time to time, and getting out of work just seemed to be something the Nocturne was good at. And at this point, whatever he could do to keep Demyx's lips sealed wasn't entirely outside of the Flurry's consideration. He didn't have to let Demyx know that, though, and if no others had come back to the castle then maybe the guy was only looking to Axel for protection.

"And what'd I do to deserve that kinda welcome?" he asked slyly, dropping his hand to his side.

[clockwatcher]

Axel, alive? The idea of it was, simply, awesome. Now, if the pair of them were back, then there was a very high chance that the others had also been resurrected, but just how many members of the Organization there were, was unknown. There was the chance that No. VIII and No. IX were the only ones alive- if one could call a Nobody's existence the same as those who are truly complete. But the differences between a Nobody and a somebody wasn't on the Nocturne's mind; what was, though, were questions about the other members, if they were back, too; and what their plans were now.

He was just ecstatic to find another Nobody as himself, or really, it was Axel who found him. Their relationship was fairly positive, they never argued over petty things, and the like. (actually, as far as he could remember). Axel never seemed like that kind of person, but nor was he as talkative, or friendly, like Demyx.
The sitar player had been so overcome with emotion, the bear-hug was all he could do to express his delight; better Axel, than say, Xaldin. It appeared that Demyx wasn't going to let go of Axel any time soon, and perhaps it was for the best that shortly after Axel had recovered from his shock of being hugged, the Flurry of Dancing Flames had elbowed the Melodius Nocturne, and taken a few steps away from the couch.

Well, he wasn't expecting that. Demyx gasped, automatically releasing Axel from his grip, and he sank back onto the couch, holding his side, grimacing. He glanced up to the other Nobody; and then came that weird sensation again behind his eyes, as well as blurred vision. The look on his face was one of utter rejection. He placed his hands on top of the back of the couch, and gripped the cushions; if he weren't wearing gloves, one would notice that due to Demyx' grip on the couch, his knuckles had turned white.

The Nocturne studied Axel thoughtfully as he spoke, clearly having regained composure after the overly-friendly welcome. He's... not that glad to see me..? What did I do? he thought, and was about to ask Axel just that, when he was asked basically the same thing. But, however, that little joke about his life flashing before his eyes? That did not go well with Demyx. It took every bit of self control that Demyx had, not to sink back down into despair, and really get upset, to the point where his behaviour would make anybody uncomfortable and embarrassed to be around him.

This feeling of despair would quickly pass, though; his spirits lightened up, albeit slightly. Axel was almost right in guessing that Demyx had no knowledge of a certain traitor; in reality, he had simply forgotten about it, and if Axel were to mention it, the blond would only link it to Roxas, not Axel. But something was bound to bring back that memory, but for the time being, Demyx was only concerned about the status of the Organization, and what Axel had in mind for the present time.

He shrugged in response, and flashed a grin at the other Nobody. The grin soon disappeared, as the realization of his vibrant welcome finally hit him, and he turned away from Axel, a little embarrassed."Nothin'. I'm just glad you're back, is all.. Have you seen the others? Are we the only ones..? Where's Xiggy?" There were a lot of questions to ask, and he asked the first questions that felt the most important, but still... The sitar player still couldn't really get over the idea that they were alive, and at having found an ally. He was no longer alone.

He stared down at his hands, bit his lower lip, and studied his hands thoughtfully before he looked back to Axel, straightening up and leaning forward, so his torso was now hanging over the back of the couch, his hands holding onto the cushions for support. The Nocturne shot Axel a dark look, but if it meant anything, it would mean nothing, for Demyx' hurt expression conveyed that he had been offended by Axel's apparent couldn't-care-less attitude towards the fact that they, and possibly the whole Organization, had been brought back. In addition to the fact that Axel didn't return Demyx' welcome. That was just rude.

"............."

[axie]

Demyx looked like that elbow hurt him more than it did--probably--as usual, and if Axel had a heart he would've smirked wryly. But he didn't, and in the next minute the Nocturne was bursting with questions anyway. All the same stuff, and while Axel couldn't put it past Demyx to play dumb and hope a few other members would pop into the Gray Area to save him, the Flurry didn't think this was the time nor place. Xigbar--man, Axel hoped that guy was dead. Xigbar had always been fiercely loyal with the best of them and at least as dangerous as Saïx for his unpredictability alone. But if the Organization was in fragments and Xemnas was unsalvageable, having a Freeshooter around would be awesome as long as his bullets didn't nick Axel.

The thoroughly accusatory look Demyx shot him made Axel cross his arms and look away with a short sound like an aborted scoff. "Don't look at me, I dunno what happened to 'em all." Probably scant comfort, since Demyx probably didn't know anything about Axel's last violent encounter with Zexion but that whole Vexen thing had gotten reported. If the Nocturne now thought he'd gone and killed off Xigbar, too, then Axel wasn't sure what to feign to get out of it. "Last thing I knew, Sora was headed for the castle. If you haven't seen him, maybe he's already blown this place." Come to think of it, Axel hadn't spotted Kingdom Hearts since he entered, and he glanced over his shoulder at an empty sky. "...Huh. Well, all I do know is this," he added, shifting to look a little more open. "Zexion's back, which is good. He'll probably report back here eventually--but Marluxia was with him, too." Jade eyes glinted with something like malice. Axel didn't know what would possess Xemnas to forgive Marluxia and keep him among the ranks; but maybe he hadn't, the exchange had been pretty rushed--and in a fragmented Organization, every member counted.

Forget Roxas. Kid was never coming back, and in his absence it was easier to see just how thoroughly he blinded the Flurry of Dancing Flames.

Axel needed to find Saïx and get back what was really important.

But in the meantime, Demyx would have to do.

"If I'm the first you've seen, maybe we got this whole empty world to ourselves." Axel's smirk wasn't indulgent. "Mazel tov."

[clockwatcher]

Demyx’s gaze lowered to the floor as Axel spoke of the others, and he sighed heavily, his grasp on the couch loosening. How could it be that everything was fine and dandy, that everyone was back, or really, those that he knew had died, had returned. And if they had, why should it mean that they would regroup, and continue their original goal, to claim Kingdom Hearts? The Nocturne scratched the back of his neck, and shrugged again.

"I guess you’re right, Axel. No point in waitin’..?” In truth, that was the plan that Demyx had in mind, to wait for the others, mostly Xigbar, as that guy pretty much knew everything; if the Nocturne needed something sorted out, Xigbar was usually the first guy that he sought for answers, cryptic as they were, too.

He breathed in deeply, and sank back further into the couch’s cushions, now resting his arms on the couch’s back; he slouched down, and rested his chin on the back of his hands, his eyes fixed on Axel. When Axel mentioned two particular Nobodies, Demyx blinked, and tilted his head. "Those guys?” He noticed the slight malice in Axel’s voice when he mentioned Marluxia, and the concept that there was another Organizaiton member that could not be found in Axel’s good books, nagged at Demyx. Aquamarine eyes cast down, he chewed his lower lip, thinking hard, trying to decide if it would be a good idea to bring the matter up, but thought better of it.

With eyes cast down, he drummed his fingers on the back of the couch. So, only Zexion, Marluxia, Axel, and himself were back from the dead. Was that a good thing, or a bad thing..? More of them meant safety, for there was safety in numbers, but not when a few of them had a history of turning their backs on the Organzation.

Come to think of it… didn’t Axel…? Oh, crap..!

The concept entered his mind, of the chance that Axel possibly being the reason for the others’ failure to report to what remained of the Castle, of the fact that they had not been sighted; the young blond tried pushing the thought away to the back of his mind, and replacing it with plans of where he should start looking for the other members, but it just kept coming back, refusing to be dismissed. Demyx jerked back to attention, as he realized that Axel was still speaking to him. We got this whole world to ourselves, huh?

He perked up, and cast Axel an inquisitive look. "To ourselves..? No Superior, huh. What about X-Face?”

As he said this, the idea that Axel had terminated another Organization member, crept back into his thoughts. Unfortunately, for him, Demyx was never good at playing poker: he simply did not have a poker face. And thus, the look on his face would give away the strong implication that he had just realized something particularly important, not to mention distressing, and his following behaviour and actions would only emphasize it. Axel, undoubtably, had a similar thought, that Demyx knew of particular... situations, and would rather the Nocturne to be kept quiet, than to go blurting it out to others.

Demyx swallowed hard, and glanced sideways, as though scoping out the exact layout of the room, even though he had been in here countless times. Demyx lowered his hands behind the couch to his lap; keeping his gaze on Axel, he slowly half-twisted around, and set his boots on the floor, and made a move as though he was getting ready to get off the couch and make a run for it. Really, only to a summoned Dark Portal in the middle of the room. He really didn’t want to believe that Axel had done that again, to another member, but… better to be safe than sorry, right?

"Man, I, uh, hope X-Face stays missing. Better without him around, lecturin’, giving out orders.. am I right?”

[axie]

Demyx had always been different, in a way. When it came to Roxas, that same blankness had a bizarre kind of depth to it and the way he talked made Axel act strange too. But Demyx wasn't that, and yet he didn't have the stoic facade that belonged to people like Saïx and Xaldin, either. Instead, it was like he overdid it to the point that it looked fake, at least to Axel.

Assuming he'd be tactful about it was being too optimistic, too--or maybe his leftover reflexes were too strong for him to control, because a Nobody watching Demyx react had the same effect as if he wore a blaring siren on his head. Axel didn't know what had just crossed the Nocturne's mind, but he had plenty of theories and none of them meant good things. His best guess was that mentioning Marluxia had brought up the thought of traitors, and that was stupid Axel shouldn't've done that. Revealing this much to Demyx had been a mistake from the very beginning, because while the Organization's Number Nine had never been outwardly loyal, there was nothing to suggest to Axel that betraying the Organization would settle well with him.

That said, what was Axel's best course of action now? Demyx had told him nothing the empty World That Never Was didn't already communicate, and Axel was the one aware of two other members functioning on their own. If the Nocturne intended to rejoin his fellows, it might benefit Axel to eliminate him ahead of time, but only if Demyx didn't then come back after that. At the moment he couldn't afford to snap anymore ties with the Organization; as it was, he was going to have a hard enough time patching them up even with Saïx's help, if he could get that. Plus, Demyx looked well-rested and Axel's body still felt stretched to the breaking point, not ready yet to be the Flurry of Dancing Flames again. Even if he honestly decided Demyx was better off out of the picture, this was anything but an opportune moment. That job would be better left to Sora, when and if it came down to it.

Nothing useful. No reason to act hastily. Axel could use an ally, but if Demyx ran now he lost nothing that wasn't already gone.

Axel's lips quirked. "Heh. Guess so, if you're alright with takin' 'em from the boss man himself." Another glance behind him at the sky--man, Axel just could not get over not seeing a heart-shaped moon up there. "But it doesn't look like he's here, either." The thought that Sora might actually defeat Xemnas hadn't occurred to Axel, if only because both of them seemed like absolute constants--Xemnas too strong to fall and Sora too determined not to. And yet, it seemed far more likely that Xemnas had destroyed Sora.

"You got here before me. Have you seriously got no idea what happened?" he asked, looking back to Demyx with a muted look of something like concern.

Both scenarios, inevitable as they were, were hard to imagine. And since one of the two had consumed Kingdom Hearts, where did that leave Xemnas's followers?

[clockwatcher]

Demyx remained seated on the couch, clutching the edge of the seat and with one leg now stretched out. So far, Axel didn’t appear to have caught on to Demyx’ nervous behaviour, which was not true; the Nocturne was never good at guess-work, at reading other people’s minds, their true motives and feelings.. or really, their imitations of such things. Axel hadn’t summoned his chakrams- yet, nor did the tone of his voice become darker, more threatening. And if that happened, Demyx’ nerves would just about break; as a peacemaker, he could not stay calm and composed in the presence of someone acting aggressively, physically or verbally, it didn’t matter which. Violence caused him to lose composure, really quickly, and more often than not, he would run off in tears, or close to it. Even someone who did not act aggressively towards No. IX, but simply had a forceful personality, placed Demyx on edge, but on an infrequent basis.

Glad with how their conversation was going, how Axel wasn’t losing his cool and pressuring Demyx for information right now, if Demyx knew what was good for him, the blond Nobody visibly loosened up and lay back against the couch, folding his arms behind his head and clasping his hands. He tilted his head back so as to look back to the other Nobody, and failed; in his position, it simply was not possible, but actually, it was a little uncomfortable, however, he stayed in position.

"From the boss man.. You mean, the Superior? Don’t know what to make of that, man.. Oohh, that’d mean that there’s no chance of bein’ turned into a Dusk?

Demyx breathed out a huge sigh of relief, and his face brightened when Axel agreed with him that X-Face seemed to remain missing-in-action; he couldn’t think of anything else that could come close to that level of awesome. X-Face, gone? Fantastic! Well, if Larxene were gone, too, that’d just … he couldn’t put a word to it, actually. Awesome-er works just fine.

”It’ll be too soon if I ever see that guy again.” And, as though to emphasize his point across, Demyx stretched his whole body, momentarily remaining in a fixed, straight position on the couch, with his arms stretched out above his head, before he relaxed and slumped back down onto the couch. The da- er, or was it night? He could never tell when in the World That Never was- was getting better, mainly upon agreeing that Saix was no longer amongst their ranks.

The Nocturne tilted his head back to look at Axel, his eyebrows raised, and shrugged his shoulders s little. ”Search me, man. I haven’t run into any of the others ever since… this, happened. “ Demyx began to say something else, paused, and after a moment’s consideration, he sat up and got off the couch, made his way around it, and leant against the back of it, but actually. he hoisted himself up onto the back and perched there. Demyx leaned toward Axel anxiously.

”Hey, man, you alright? You look pretty beat.”

[axie]

Demyx hit the nail right on the head. Just as long as Xemnas was truly gone, his Organization would remain splintered. No member but Xemnas had the ability to subdue every Nobody from Xigbar to Roxas. Without him, Axel was off the hook. He might not necessarily be prepared to take on everyone under Zexion's influence if the guy decided to attack--or Saïx's, for that matter--but it was a helluva lot better than dealing with Xemnas.

Now that he was free to do just that, the inclination to find Sora--Roxas--coiled in his gut, but Axel ignored it for now.

Instead he kept his arms crossed and went rigid when Demyx rose. It had less to do with Demyx himself--even knowing about Axel's predicament the guy was more likely to run than fight, and he probably wouldn't do either without Xemnas holding his heart over his head--and more to do with days of running from Saïx. It would take a little time for Axel to get used to hanging around cloaks again, if it came to that, especially after Marluxia had just greeted him with a good old manhandling.

He scoffed at the blond's concern, hoping he didn't look as ragged as he felt. Being on the run did nothing for his charm and good looks. "Yeah well. Being dead wears on a guy." I'm sure I don't hafta tell you, he could've said, but no reason to go bringing that up again. "So. I didn't wake up with a heart and I'm guessin' neither did you, which puts us smack dab at square one." A thumb at the window just in case Demyx had somehow missed the fact that Kingdom Hearts was frickin' disappeared. "If all we've got're the traitor and Zexion, I say we make friends with Sora. Assuming he even survived this whole deal, it means he was able to take us out at full power. We're not gonna stand a chance at less than half our number and split to ribbons like this. But that goes without sayin'."

Axel crooked an eyebrow. "You got a better idea~?"

[clockwatcher]

Demyx looked rather uncomfortable in the other Nobody’s presence; although he had become concerned for his well-being, after noticing that Axel didn’t look 100%, but he still retained the memory and implication that he was , in some way, responsible for the disappearance of one or more Organization members. However, the Nocturne pushed it to the back of his mind, and focused on the present matter at hand; he could always find out later, and at a better time, to question more about the others and Axel’s involvement with them.

Yeah well. Being dead wears on a guy. Demyx glanced downwards, and didn’t comment on Axel’s remark; it’d probably only upset the Nocturne, anyway. The subject of death was not the only thing he wanted to discuss upon reuniting with the remaining Organization members.

“If I had a heart, do you think I’d still be here..? Wait… never mind. “

A movement from Axel made Demyx look up, his eyes following Axel’s hand. He had gestured to the sky, where Ki- wait. Kingdom Hearts was no longer there. When did that happen!? The sight left him dumbfounded, and led to a brief period of dead silence, that is, once Axel had finished speaking.

No Kingdom Hearts meant no hearts. Demyx took In a deep shuddering breath, and appeared to shrink; he wrapped his arms around his mid torso, hugging himself tightly, as he gazed up at the patch of sky where Kingdom Hearts once was. He heard Axel speak, but their meanings did not sink in… that is, until he realized that the other had mentioned Sora. The young blond looked back to the other Nobody, a fearful expression on his face, and began to frantically wave his hands in front of him, gesturing to Axel to stop talking right now as though the mere mention of Sora would summon that kid in the very room they were in.

“What, that guy!? After what he did to me?? No way, man! No way! “

As he said this, the tone of his voice was higher than usual, and his voice cracked a bit. Demyx stopped waving about, and wrapped his arms around himself again, slightly hunched over. The last thing he wanted to do now that he was back to normal, as normal as a Nobody could be, was to approach the one who killed him and request to be friends. Having said that, no, he did not have a better plan in mind, or a plan at all, save for finding the other members. Demyx kept his gaze fixated on a spot on the floor, just in front of his boots, and mumbled something in response to Axel; roughly translated, he meant to say that Axel was right; he had nothing better planned, but did they have to go do that right now(?).

[axie]

[OOC: Sorry for the wait! Got carried away for Christmas.]

Axel crooked an eyebrow, studying Demyx as if weighing his resolve against Axel's own need for an ally. Between Demyx's nerves, his hesitation to see Sora, and his slacker mentality--which Axel could definitely empathize with but not during times like this--he wasn't one to be relied on. There were worse Nobodies Axel could put his trust in, sure, but there were certainly more dependable ones.

His chuckle at Demyx's reluctance was soft and bitter, punctuated with a one-armed shrug. "Guess not." But the fact of the matter was, right now was the key to everything, as always. Axel was in no shape to be fighting, and the few Potions he'd grabbed would have to last him. And even if Demyx was the only one here--even if Monstro digested Marluxia and Zexion both and Axel never saw them again--the first place any revived members would come would be the World That Never Was. Maybe Axel could use that, later. If only the easily manipulated came back, like Vexen or Saïx, then Axel could make allies. But if someone like Xemnas strolled in without a scratch, he couldn't be napping in his own room.

So Axel had to get the hell out and find somewhere else to crash before he regretted staying.

"But I gotta at least look around. For all I know, Xemnas is beatin' the crap out of him somewhere, and then where are we?" After all, and against all odds, Xemnas had just never played it smart with this stuff.

True, the Flurry hadn't been "friends" with Demyx. But he didn't hate the guy, either. "Don't go around thinking you can just sit on your hands this round, man. The game's changed. You don't start moving and we're going to leave you behind, got it memorized?" Even if Demyx didn't take that to--well, take it seriously, then at least Axel could say he tried.

He turned, raising a hand to call a portal and waving limply with the other. "Be seein' you, Demyx."

Axel out.