Nothingness Rises // [Organization XIII]

[xemnas]

Cold yellow eyes gazed about at the ruined chamber beneath what had previously been known as Hollow Bastion. It was merely a castle twisted by a woman who thought she knew better, but it had served its purpose then as a base, as it would once more do. What was not commonly known, however, was that there was a hidden level beneath this castle that was also in possession of Organization XIII. It was here that Xemnas waited patiently, well aware that Zexion would soon catch wind of his return and most likely notify the others of his location. He was beginning to get a bit bored with waiting on his colleagues, however. Xemnas raised a black gloved hand and waved it. As if on command, the high carved chairs of pure white seemed to distort in front as portals of pure darkness appeared in front of several of them, while others remained unchanged.

"Come to me Organization XIII," Xemnas' voice came, powerful and strong to the other sides of the portals, to where he could 'sense' his fellow Nobodies presences. If they didn't come quickly, that would merely tell him who was not loyal and that it was time for a display of just why he was the leader of Organization XIII. "I would advise you not to keep me waiting. The time grows late, and there is much work to be done."

[Zexion]

The castle had once been his home; in a time when he had a heart this castle had been his sanctuary. Now with the distortion of the worlds, it had yet again become him home and sanctuary. The slate haired nobody walked the hallways in silence, the black cloak he wore made him blend in with the shadows. It was there in the shadows of the hallways that a certain scent found its way to him, a scent he knew all too well and one he had been searching for. The person who once brought them together had returned, he had returned and would surely be ready to begin to set their old plans back into motion to regain their hearts once again.

He felt the shift in the darkness, he was calling for them and it seemed he didn't wish to beat around the bush with seeing them individually. The portal opened up in front of Zexion, the darkness almost blending in with the shadows. Just like that the Cloaked Schemer stepped into the corridor of darkness; he walked along the pathways of darkness his destination already set for him. As he passed through to the other side, he quickly lowered his hood to reveal his face. Sitting stop his white stone chair, hood down to reveal his slate grey hair that covered half of his face and bright blue eyes. Hands were folded perfectly on his lap "Superior it is a pleasure to see you again, I do hope I did not keep you waiting for too long" his cold calculating voice echoed around the white room.

Zexion was forever loyal to their cause; nothing would cause him to ever give up on their goal. With the return of Xemnas, things would defiantly start to move forward now however Zexion had much to tell his leader there were things he needed to know about these worlds.

[Axel]

Their Reunion

It was strange, walking admits a graveyard. Houses empty and baron, stood frozen in time. From what he could garnish from his memories, this place used to be his home. Once long in the past, before he was born, Axel used to play with his friends. It seemed somewhat fitting, that Axel should have walked here when there was life, only for Lea to return to it with it dead. Rumours of a plague seemed to be the cause, but as to what plague Lea didn't know. His feet echoed through the hauntingly empty streets, kicking up a light layer of dust and dirt. The small cloud itself seemed unable to survive in the environment. Quickly collapsing back the ground, clinging to it with all its might. It reminded the persona of Axel, how the nobody desperately tried to cling to his former self, but was always overpowered. Lea was just a heightened sense of self for the nobody, but something inside him made it that much more. He always wondered whether he was some sort of 'other conscious' one that was only born when Axel rose from the dead. If so, what did it mean? What was his purpose?

Lea couldn't help but smirk at his sudden humanity. Questioning his very reason even though all logic pointed at it. Every now and then, at the expense of Axel's sanity, Lea probed it, the flame that resided within them. The being he couldn't quite comprehend, but seemed to be pulling the strings. Lea's mind raced over the possibilities, before having his train of thought broken by a presence. It seemed to hang in the air around him, drawing him towards the castle, yet shunning him at the same time. Lea looked up, his eyes following the outline of the shadowed shape of Radiant Garden, towering over him. A wave of dizziness seemed to overcome the nobody, as he pulled his hood on and walked towards it. His gloved hands slipped into his pockets as he felt the portal of darkness open in front of his next step.

He appeared in the white room, his feet echoing on his marble throne. The pure white walls, dazzled his sight for a second. As his eyes adjusted, he caught sight of Zexion, and couldn't help but smile. Turning to look around Lea caught sight of Xemnas, the powerful nobody overlooking the entire room. He couldn't help but admire the man's strength, as well as his resolve, but if he was still keen on the same course of action, then Lea felt that Axel needed to speak out. Slowly Lea began to sit down on his throne. The hard marble was cold to the touch, but Lea ignored the chill running up his spine and proceeded to make himself comfortable.

"You know..."

Lea reached for his hood and pulled it down. The hold he had slipped from his grasp as Axel took over. His hair began to return to its usual spiky form, the colour brightening. The same grin Lea had left with was still present, on Axel's face, growing wider at the thought of being 'home'.

"...you could send a post card once in a while, Superior"

Axel grinned cheekily as he leaned forward in his chair, looking up at his leader.

[Larxene]

Lately she hadn't been herself. It was...strange to say her old self was fighting her. No, it was much more clear to her that she was slowly going mad. It might have to do with Axel, she didn't know. But she was slowly starting to lose it. Sadistic pleasure was almost too real and she craved it unlike ever before. She started to get into more dangerous situations...

The assassination of Queen Garnet still sent chills up her spine. she got away with it scott-free and, though not her style, she watched from the side-lines at the depression Alexandria went under and the turmoil Archades suffered. It was too rich. Then...there was the destruction of CaROLiNE. That was beautiful in on itself. Cocoon couldn't recover the camera footage...and thus, were unable to detect who it was.

A giggle escaped Larxene's lips. It sounded...too vicious. Too...violent. Where had her honey-coated voice gone? The sickeningly sweet sadism? The every-so playful her? It wasn't there anymore. Just...pure carnage. But then her 'good mood' vanished as a portal opened before her. Larxene's curled to a snarl. Him. She wasn't even surprised; it was bound to happen.

She could do two things. Close to portal and risk death, or open it and risk death. Larxene touched the portal, her brows still furrowed. Dammit, she wasn't in the mood for some meeting with the Superior. She wrinkled her nose as she could feel the sudden want to send electricity through the dark portal. She stopped the urge. Why did she hold such bloodlust...?

Larxene calmed herself down. This would cause even Axel to wonder if the world had ended. Larxene, being the bigger person? Calming her own storm? Yes. But only because it was...unnatural. Larxene entered the portal finally, , hoping inside right into the castle. The Superior...right in front of her. Larxene shifted her posture, kept her chin up, and spoke.

"It's been such a long time since I've seen you, Superior." Larxene said, her honey-coated voice holding with a glint in her eyes. Yet it felt wrong. Like she was faking...no, she always was. Was this real now? Was she acting like this for real? Like she had emotions? If she wasn't before Zexion and Axel, she would've let out her disdain for her own confusing emotions.

[Dona]

Tea time was such a wonderful time of day. Just sit back, and relax. Perhaps have a nice game of cards over your steaming hot tea. And it's always wonderful to have company while you drink your tea, and even converse with them about the on goings with your life. Luxord brought the snow white cup to his nose, and a pleasant little smile formed on his face as he let the smells of darkened tea leaves and honey waft upwards. After a few seconds of admiring the scent, he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. "You know Mother, tea is said to do wonders for the body. Especially one recovering from rigor mortis. Ah that reminds, did I tell you I died?"

The Nobody paused to look over at his Mother, half excepting a reply. Of course there was none. He was talking to a pile of bones. He wasn't sure if the bones were his Mother's or even female, but he liked to think it was her. After all he was always fond of her. She even died trying to protect him, even though it was in vain. "Rather dreadful the whole dying thing is, although I would assume that you know more of the topic then I." He said returning to his tea. For some odd reason Luxord found it comforting to talk to these piles of bones, perhaps it was simply because he awoke only a few minutes ago. His most recent memories was him fading into darkness. Ah well, he was better off then the pile of bones he called Mother. The poor lass's remaining body parts were strapped to a chair with some crude wire that Luxord found on the side of the road.

The stone before Luxord started to twist and turn with life. Thick tendrils of darkness arose from the cobble stone, twisting upwards into an oval shape. Luxord forced a fake laugh to pass his lips, he knew his old self would find this amusing. It hasn't been even a full half an hour since he awoke and already Superior called him. And here Luxord was thinking that he was simply a pawn. The Gambler of Fate arose, placing the snow white tea cup on the rusted table that separated him and his dead Mother. "Ah, it seems that I have business to attend to. I apologize for ending our tea early, but this takes precedence." Luxord took a few steps towards the writhing darkness before stopping. "Mother, I promise that I shall give you a proper burial next time we have tea." The Gambler said before finally entering the portal.

The darkness reacted almost immediately to the Nobody's presence. It clawed at his body, eager to take the life that he recently regained, as it always did. Yet his own darkness demanded control, forcing the writhing tendrils to obey. His body lurched as he was shot forward, the darkness doing his bidding. Within seconds he stepped out into the pure white room, his crystal blue eyes soon scanning the room. Not to surprisingly the Superior sat at the head of the table. But the presence of the others caught him off guard. He truly excepted Saix to the the only other member at this meeting. Perhaps it was a higher power that gave him his existence back.

Hmm... Fate truly works in mysterious ways. The man mused to himself before greeting Xemnas. "Ah, Superior. It is a pleasure to see that you fared well against the boy" Luxord said with a small wave of his hand, and a small little bow to show his respect before he took his seat. Of course everyone knew who he was talking about. The keybearer, Sora, had this nasty little habit of killing the Organization's members. Luxord wondered if the others could smell the stench of death on him, if it still lingered. Or did fate remove that to? An interesting question. Luxord quietly contemplated his new found life as he withdrew a small deck of playing cards. The gray backing featured the white cross of the Nobodies. His only movement was to occasionally give the deck a quick shuffle, before his hands grew still once again.