Chapter 002 : Dark Forest - The First Morning.

Location: Dark Forest

Characters: Vexen, Marluxia, Axel, Larxene, Lexaeus, Zexion

Rating/Warnings: PG-13, swearing

Summary: Life in the forest means new experiences, none of which are pleasant.

The dreary, pale light shining though the canopy hardly classified as 'dawn' by Zexion's standards. Dawn should be bright and full of the chirping of birds, not accompanied by a chilly mist and dew soaking into his clothes. No literary description had ever mentioned the unpleasantness of the outdoors in quite this way. Heaving himself up from the rock he'd been sitting on, he crossed the clearing to wake Lexaeus up. His stiff joints protested after being still for hours. Nevertheless, he had preferred staying awake himself rather than making one of the despicable traitors replace him. Leaving Axel or, for that matter, Marluxia, awake alone out here would only have been abysmally stupid.

Lexaeus was stretched out beneath a fir tree, solid as a boulder on the ground. Zexion gently touched his shoulder. He was loath to wake him, but they needed to start the day. No matter how far they had travelled from Oblivion, he still had a crushing sense of urgency hanging over him. They had to do something to redress the situation. Something.

Number Five opened his eyes, a look in his eyes that was almost disappointment. He nodded silently in response to Zexion's apologetic glance. His movements were as awkward as the other's as he sat up and rolled his shoulders.

"Any trouble?" Even his voice sounded hoarser than usual to Zexion's ears.

"No. Hardly a mouse moving around, and everyone has been sleeping soundly. I have not noticed any dark auras, apart from our own." Offering a hand, he helped Lexaeus to his feet before hobbling down to the stream for a drink. Around the small clearing, the others began to wake; Axel was picking leaves out of his hair as Larxene stirred between the roots of a large tree. Vexen had opted to sleep in the grass next to the stream, as far away as possible from Marluxia. The assassin in question was the only one still asleep, in a patch of ferns on the other side of the open space.

The water was cold and clear as Zexion bent over it, so clear that he could see the water plants and small fishes swimming underneath the surface. He wrinkled his nose as he lifted a handful to his mouth. It tasted… well, not bad per se, but with an aftertaste of earth and living things (and dead ones as well, probably) that jarred horribly with the memory of the sterile, pure water in Oblivion.

A shape appeared next to him in the brook's mirror and then Vexen was kneeling beside him, greedily gulping down the water. The man truly looked a bit worse for wear, with twigs in his hair and a ragged face. Zexion idly wondered whether it was the ant bites or just the night in the forest that had caused his discomfort.

"Good morning, Number Four." His polite greeting only earned him an irritated grumble. The other man clearly wasn't in an agreeable mood.

***

One by one, the Nobodies rose and stumbled down to the stream to splash water on their faces and quench the worst hunger with the flowing water. Other morning arrangements led to some commotion.

"No!" Larxene hissed, " It is not a small matter! The ladies' forest is that way, the men's forest that way! If I get one of you lousy lot stumbling through my bushes when I go about my business it's a knife in the guts, no questions asked! Understood?!"

Axel had tried to raise some leering objections but a yellow kunai waved in the vicinity of his face, along with disapproving frowns from the rest of the group, quickly ended that particular argument.

After the damp, uncomfortable night, tempers already frayed were now stretched to the breaking point. The group had gathered on the presumably insect-free rocks next to the brook. Hostile glances were exchanged all around, apart from Vexen who flat-out refused to even look at Marluxia.

"So, what are we to do?" Zexion was tense. There must be a solution, a way back to their regular lives.

Larxene snorted. "Do? We keep away, of course. I have no intention of meeting either Xemnas or the Keyblade masters right now."

"Idiots!" Vexen's voice was shrill and high pitched. "Of course we must go back! To do otherwise would be the worst kind of treason."

"It… will not look good, that we ran… left Oblivion without reporting back to The World That Never Was." There was an uncertainty in Zexion's voice that he hated to hear. He saw it mirrored in the faces around him.

"Yeah, but right now Xemnas doesn't even know we're here. He thinks us dead, he must, with Oblivion swarmed over by enemies. We're off the hook here!" Axel's smirk did nothing to calm down the rest of the group.

Reluctantly, Lexaeus nodded. "Yes. We can stay here, until we have found a way to plead our case to the Superior…"

"You are a fool." Marluxia ignored the angry glances from most of the party present, using his most regal and authoritarian voice. "If we go back, the Organization will surely judge us harshly. We will stay away, planning out a clear course of action."

"Shut up! You don't have any right to give me orders, traitor!" Zexion could see Axel wince as the pitch of Vexen's voice reached new heights.

"If you don't like it, crawl back to Xemnas on your own, Vexen." Axel's smile was sharp, and the elder predictably blanched at the notion. "How dare you?!"

"No." Zexion's voice was sharp. "No one will wander off alone. Least of all back to the Superior!" He felt rather than saw Lexaeus nodding in agreement.

Vexen snorted. "I had no intention to return alone. If I go back, I'm taking these traitors with me!" Larxene shrieked in anger and Marluxia hissed angrily. After that, not much productive was said for a while.

In the end, six Nobodies were glaring at each other, faces flushed and angry. Marluxia tried once again to take control of the discussion. "We will not gain anything from this kind of behaviour..."

"Fine one to talk," Vexen snarled.

Lexaeus rumbled something displeased and irritated, and both Vexen and Marluxia fell silent.

"Stop this. Are we in agreement, at least, to stay here for the time being?"

All around the circle, Nobodies nodded reluctantly. The sun had now risen a good portion of its way towards the zenith and the escapees felt their stomachs complain. More earthly matters needed to be dealt with.

***

"Damnit!" Larxene ran across the clearing, trying to get a clear throw at the rabbit scampering for the trees. She had spent what felt like hours sneaking up on the thing! The animal reached the first thicket as the knife thudded into the earth a hand's width away. In enraged desperation, Larxene channelled lightening though the kunai into the surrounding area hoping to stun the damn creature before it escaped.

Electricity sparked through the air in great arches, flying into grass and trees. The resulting bang echoed though the forest, scaring every bird within hearing to rise to the air in a horrible racket of caws and cries. Larxene eyed them with furious distain. They were all out of her reach! Looking down again, she saw flames licking across the ground. Her kunai was already surrounded by burning grass. With an undignified squeak, she jumped out of the flames' path and half ran back to the brook.

***

"That was incredibly clumsy." Larxene wanted nothing more than putting a fist into that scornful scowl. Vexen in this mood was completely insufferable, especially when he had a grain of truth in his claims. The dark smoke from the wildfire she had started still smudged the sky, even though the on-and-off rain had kept it from spreading. Axel had –with a horribly patronising smile- killed the flames, and now only smoking wood remained. She was still in a foul mood about it, and so snarled at the meagre collection of foodstuffs laid out on a leaf next to the fire.

"Oh yeah? Look at what you guys found, five mushrooms and a heap of… are those berries or animal droppings?"

"Sneer as much as you like. At least we brought back food." Larxene stomped off, leaving Vexen triumphant in the middle off the clearing. As she threw herself down on a handy rock, Axel and Lexaeus emerged from the woods lugging big armfuls of branches. The elders had vocally opposed anyone heading out in the forest alone, and had insisted they at least go in pairs. They had also been loathe to the idea of the neophytes alone and unsupervised. Larxene had only managed to get away by pointing out that none of the elders could stalk worth a damn though a real forest.

Marluxia had gone with Vexen and Zexion looking for edibles, and the pink-haired assassin was probably the only reason the group had come back with anything at all. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, her stomach was protesting louder than ever.

The group had gathered around the fire, staring at the tiny heap of food. Lexaeus knelt next to it and, with great care, divided the food into six reasonably equal heaps. The clearing had the air of armies sizing each other up for a war. Everyone glared daggers at the surrounding competition, though in the end, despite some appraising and hungry glances, no one made any attempt for a bigger share.

The food was gone way too soon, and didn't even begin to full up hungry stomachs. What was left was six Nobodies in no better mood than before. The light of the sun was growing fainter. It was clear no more attempt to find food could be attempted until the next day. Bereft of any tasks to perform, the bickering predictably started up again.

"If you hadn't been such a passive coward, this would never have happened." Vexen growled at Zexion and Lexaeus both. Zexion snorted in answer, while Lexaeus frowned.

"Our failure was minor compared to the treason committed by some other people present here."

"You're useless", Marluxia stated with an aloof face to a snarling Larxene, "Why didn't you take care of Sora when you had the chance?"

"Why didn't you?!"

Axel received the most hostile glances, mostly because Vexen refused to even admit Marluxia's presence among them. Number Eight smirked as much as ever, but there was a new tension to his shoulders. The distrust towards him was almost palpable in the air.

In the end, the squabbling died out simply by lack of energy. Vexen eyed a rip in his coat with disdain before sighing.

"It might be a good idea to take stock of our resources. I managed to secure a few potions and the like before our… departure. What about the rest of you?"

Digging through pockets and various hiding places, the groups managed to produce a small number of miss-matched items. There was a very limited number of potions and elixirs; the glass phials shimmering in the light of the fire. Vexen's heart sank as he counted them, and he was glad he hadn't offered up every vial that he had for the general muster.

Zexion counted them over and shook his head. "So few…"

I'm quite sure you have a few left in your own pockets, Schemer, Vexen thought. Most had come from himself and Lexaeus; they had been the ones who had had any time to prepare after the catastrophe had become a fact.

"Can't you just make more?" Axel asked the three elders, and Vexen snorted.

"Of course. If you found me a well-equipped lab and the correct ingredients, all of which appears to be rather lacking here and now."

"Oh."

Apart from the phials of liquid, it was a diverse little pile. Seven pens, from various persons, a few dog eared pieces of paper, a candy bar from Axel, a necklace Zexion wouldn't divulge the origin of and a piece of string. Marluxia had had one of Naminee's crayons in his pocket. A small comb, some paperclips and a scattering of now-useless Oblivion Cards finished off the collection.

Larxene picked up one off the pens. "Hey, isn't this mine? I remember last seeing it three months ago." Zexion mumbled something vague in reply.

Lexaeus spoke up. "We should ration those potions."

The suggestion was met with frowns from some individuals, but Zexion and Vexen nodded. "Yes. They should only be used in the uttermost emergency."

"Those are my property," Marluxia protested, indicating the two vials he had put forth.

"The situation is too grave to leave that kind of decisions to individuals!" Vexen snarled.

"Ah, so we're setting up our own little organization here, Vexie?" Larxene looked disgusted. "All rank and orders from above?" Axel grunted in agreement.

Lexaeus shook his head to prevent any outburst from the scientist. "No. We should all be in agreement whenever to use one of them. Consensus. At least until we can find more."

Larxene and Axel looked uncertain, and Marluxia scowled. "I still say I have the right to my own things!"

Vexen's eyes were murderous. "Oh? So you can use the same fine judgement you used when you caused the whole Castle, the whole design of Oblivion to come crashing down around us?! You can't be trusted!"

"Consensus." Lexaeus repeated himself like a calming mantra. "How many here think the potions should be held collectively?"

There was some grumbling and hesitation, but in the end, fours hands were raised. Axel smirked at Marluxia and Larxene.

"Sorry guys, but I didn't bring any for myself."

Marluxia tossed his head with an indifferent air. "Very well. As for who should be carrying them…"

Vexen began to gather the vials without looking at the assassin, ignoring his angry hiss at the interruption.

"Now that that matter is dealt with… pens and papers are clearly worthless out here. What about the rest?"

Larxene picked up the string and paper clips. "Maybe these…"

***

The makeshift fishing line disappeared into the water. Larxene could see the glint of the paperclip below the surface, and the poor bug used as bait. Come on, come on… a big, juicy bug just for you, fishies. But no, the fishies appeared to have gone to bed, just as the group was doing behind her. She could see the small sleek bodies sniffing around the paperclip-hook, but so far no takers. She threw a careful glance over her shoulder. Vexen and Marluxia were one again on opposite sides of the clearing, carefully not looking at each other. Lexaeus and Zexion had settled down underneath the fir tree. Axel was nowhere to be seen, presumably out doing his business in the woods. She turned her eyes back to the water. It would take just a small, small charge… the fish was just inches away from the metal, and with the conductivity of the water…

She channelled a tiny amount of electricity into the metal, a short burst that raced through the water of the small brook. Even as she cheered at the fish floating up to the surface, stunned and limp, she heard a yell from around the bend of the stream. That sounded like... Axel?

She threw the fish on the grass and raced around the trees, emerging on the shore and finding the fire elemental up to the waist in the water. His normally wild hair stood up even straighter from his head, and he had a slightly shocked look on his face. Realization hit Larxene even as the others crashed out of the trees. She stumbled back to the campsite howling with laughter, followed by Axel's curses.

"Damn you, bitch!"

"See it as a sacrifice, Axel! At least you'll get breakfast!"

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