Tattered Soul

Tattered Soul

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters associated with Kingdom Hearts or Kingdom Hearts II. I'm merely borrowing them.

Chapter 5

Zexion was unsurprised when he was summoned to Where Nothing Gathers for a meeting with the Superior. He masked his fear well as he crossed the marble floor, staring at the intricate design carved into the floor instead of up at the cloaked figure.

“Number VI, tell me about your doctor's appointment,” Xemnas commanded.

Zexion knew that he couldn't stall or beat around the bush—Xemnas hated that more than anything. He had to tell the simple, straight truth.

“Well, um...sir...it appears that I...” Zexion stammered, all courage failing him.

“What Number VI? Tell me!” Xemnas's voice rose as his patience dropped.

“Pregnant. I'm...pregnant.” Zexion's shoulders shook as he tried to control his fear.

“VI, look at me!” Xemnas bellowed.

Zexion cringed. He knew that it was taboo to look at the Superior, but he had commanded it. He hesitatingly lifted up his eyes. He first saw that there were two cloaked figures instead of just one. He had assumed that he would be meeting the Superior alone, but his assessment was wrong. He had forgotten about Saix. The two of them were practically joined at the hip so it was pretty much a given that wherever Xemnas was, Saix was with him. Zexion looked Xemnas squarely in the eyes. He had such cold, shrewd eyes. They were a yellowish-bronze color that completely creeped Zexion out.

“Are you telling the truth, Number VI? Are you really pregnant?” Xemnas asked.

“Yes,” Zexion whispered.

“Saix, your assessment?” Xemnas asked.

“He's not lying, Superior,” Saix responded.

“Can you go and fetch Number IV for me?”

“Yes sir.”

Saix temporarily vanished. When he returned, he had Vexen in tow.

“You wished to see me, Superior?” Vexen asked, bowing low.

“Yes Vexen,” Xemnas said softly. Vexen straightened up, surprised. He hadn't heard Xemnas call him by name since he was accepted into the Organization. “It appears that one of your experiments has finally succeeded.”

“Oh?” Vexen's eyebrows raised.

“Zexion, why don't you tell him the happy news?”

“Yes Superior,” Zexion murmured. He took a deep breath and turned around. “I'm...pregnant.”

Vexen's eyes widened. “What?!”

“I'm pregnant.”

Vexen stared at him. When he realized that Zexion wasn't lying, he gave a soft gasp. “My god. It...it really worked. I...I can't believe it.”

“Neither can I,” Zexion muttered.

Vexen ignored him. “Number VI, I need you to come to my lab with me so I can run a couple of tests.”

“What are you going to do?” Zexion asked nervously.

“Relax Number VI. I'm not going to hurt you or your baby. I just want to run a quick diagnostic okay?”

“Okay.”

“This is incredible!” Vexen talked to himself while they were traveling to Vexen's room.

Zexion had never been inside Number IV's room, but unsurprisingly, it was styled like a laboratory. The lab itself was off the main sitting room. For some reason, Zexion had the feeling that he had seen the interior of Vexen's lab before, though he wasn't sure why. It made him feel uneasy. He stared at all of Vexen's instruments uneasily.

“Relax will you, Number VI? I'm not going to do anything bad to you. I swear,” Vexen snapped irritably. He fiddled around with some machines for a while. He switched something on. “This is an ultrasound machine. I'll be able to take a look at the baby.” Zexion nodded. “Can you take off your cloak for me please? Unless you want me to do it for you.” Zexion scowled and removed his standard Organization cloak. He laid on the table where Vexen indicated and waited as the older boy rolled up his shirt. “It's going to feel a bit cold.” Zexion jumped as the cold gel touched his skin. Vexen was silent for a while.

“Is everything okay?” Zexion finally asked.

“Yes. Yes. Everything is just fine. I'm just sort of...shocked. Because it appears that you are pregnant.”

“I told you,” Zexion muttered under his breath. “Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?”
“By my calculations, you are two months pregnant, making the baby due...sometime in April. Did the doctor give ou an estimate?”
Zexion nodded. “He said about mid-April.”
“Excellent. Continue to see the doctor and make sure you follow his instructions.”
“All right.” Zexion wiped the goo from his belly and rolled his shirt down.

“Come and see me after you go to the doctor.”

“Okay.”
Zexion left Vexen's room and returned to his own. There was a lot for him to think about. He sat in his most comfortable reading chair and planned to not move for the entire day. Unfortunately, Fate didn't seem to want to cooperate with him. He hadn't sat for five minutes when there was a knock on the door. He gritted his teeth and made sure he was presentable before going to the door. He took one look at Demyx in full Organization dress and realized that he had left his cloak in Vexen's room. He cursed softly and made a mental note to go and pick it up later. Turing, he addressed the blond hovering somewhat anxiously in his doorway.

“Yes Demyx?” he asked.

“Oh hey Zexion. I was just making sure you were okay. You've never slept this late before.”
Zexion blinked. Then, it made sense. Xemnas must have told the other Organization members that he was still asleep and they they were not to disturb them. He must have gathered them in Where Nothing Gathers so he could slip out and back in without being noticed. Zexion felt a wave of gratitude to the Superior.

Realizing that Demyx was staring at him, he cleared his throat.

“I'm all right,” he said softly. “I'm just a bit tired. Thank you for your concern.”

Demyx smiled. “No problem.”

Weeks passed. Zexion kept to himself, hiding in his room, reading as he usually did. He also started research because he had a feeling that he was missing something important and it made him feel very uneasy. There was this one dream that kept coming back to him that had been keeping him awake ever since he found out that he was pregnant. He wondered if it was a side-effect of his pregnancy, but he couldn't exactly tell Vexen about it because the dream involved him drugging Zexion for his own evil experiments. There was the other doctor, but Zexion was sure he wouldn't know much because he was pretty surprised about Zexion's pregnancy.

Zexion had not been successful in any of his research thus far, but there was one more option; break into Vexen's room and see if there was anything helpful there. He had to wait until Vexen was absent from the Organization headquarters to do any sort of a search. Thankfully, he was given an opportunity near the end of the summer when Vexen had to go to a meeting at the school; he, as well as Lexaeus, Xalidn, Xigbar, and Luxord were working on becoming teachers at the high school. Fate was cooperating with him that day because Larxene and Marluxia both had to work, Larxene at a café, and Marluxia at a floral shop, Demyx and Axel were on a mission, and Xemnas was with Saix, not to be disturbed under any circumstances. And Zexion had the day off. When he was certain that everyone had left, he slipped down the hall to Vexen's room. He was sure that Vexen had no real security; it was not allowed by Xemnas, plus Vexen was very trusting. Zexion had no difficulty gaining access to

Vexen's room and did a thorough search, knowing that the punishment for being caught in another member's room without permission was severe. The first half hour was fruitless. He was about to give up when something caught his eye. It was a file cabinet that had somehow escaped his notice. He opened the top drawer. There were no files, but instead what turned out to be videotapes. Each had a label with a date neatly written on it. The dates ran in reverse order with the most recent at the back. The second drawer had more tapes, even further back in time. Zexion thought for a moment. He tried to recall the date the incident with Vexen had occurred, if it had in fact occurred. When he did come up with the date, he searched through the tapes until he found the one labeled 'June 18'.

If this is what I think it is, this could give me any indication if the thing with Vexen occurred or not. He thought.

He glanced at the clock. There wasn't enough time for him to view the tape before the other members started returning from their various activities. He had no idea of how much footage was on the tape and it could take hours for him to comb through it all, time he didn't have. He quickly made a decision and stole back to his room to make a copy of the tape. It was a relatively quick process and the tape was soon back in its original place. Zexion left no indication that he had been there to begin with.

He was slightly nervous to start watching the tape; he had no idea of what was contained on it and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Curiosity got the better of him and he started the tape, praying he wasn't found out. At least most members were courteous enough to knock before they entered, though it didn't matter; he could smell the members long before they arrived at his room.

The tape was exactly what he thought; a security tape. He quickly got bored and started to zip through it. When he saw something that caught his interest, he stopped it and started watching it. It was near the end and what he saw made him ill. He covered his mouth with his hand and hoped he didn't throw up.

His head snapped up when he caught a distinctly smoky scent. Axel. He quickly got up and turned off the tape. A few moments later, he heard a short knock. He opened the door.

“Xemnas is ordering a meeting in Where Nothing Gathers,” Axel said, unperturbed that Zexion knew he was coming.

“Did he say why?” Zexion asked.

“Nope.”
“Okay.”

Axel left. Zexion made sure that nothing was out of place as he made his way out of his room, attempting to push the contents of the video out of his head.

Ten minutes later, the entire Organization was gathered at Where Nothing Gathers. When everyone was seated, Xemnas stood.

“I am sure you are all wondering why I have gathered you here. When we were created, there was little hope that we would be able to continue our legacy...” Zexion started to feel ill again. He knew exactly where Xemnas was going with this. “...but know our dream can once again be fulfilled. I am happy to announce that the Organization's first child has been conceived against all odds and is being carried by Zexion.”

There was a stunned silence. Zexion stared at his feet. He could feel everyone staring at him. His nausea got worse. His hand covered his mouth again. Images of the video were scorched into his brain. It seemed as though the harder he tried to get rid of them, the more vivid they became. When the whispering started, he couldn't take it anymore. He bolted from the room, his chest heaving as his stomach tried to empty its contents. Demyx rose instinctively. He wasn't expecting Xemnas to stop him.

“Let him go,” the Superior ordered. “He will return when he is ready.”

Demyx nodded and sat down. The whispering continued. Five, ten minutes passed. When fifteen minutes had passed, Xemnas ordered Axel to check on him. The redhead was gone for about ten minutes and when he returned, he was alone.

“Zexion is gone,” he said breathlessly. “I checked the bathroom, the back porch, and even his room.”
“What?” Xemnas asked in surprise.

“I looked everywhere. He's gone.”

“Did he leave a note?” Xemnas questioned.

Axel shook his head. “Not that I could find.”
“Very well. Number VII, I want you to look for him. You must find him no matter what. Take Number IX with you.”

“Yes sir.” Axel nodded.

Demyx hopped down from his chair and followed Axel out of Where Nothing Gathers. At the door, the two of them put the hoods of their cloaks up. They were immediately glad they did; it was pouring rain. They set out together through the deserted streets, searching every nook and cranny of Twilight Town. It was surprisingly cold for a summer afternoon. Demyx shivered and pulled his cloak closer to his body. His sea green eyes were filled with worry.

“Zexion! Zexion!” Axel called as loud as he could, his voice laced with fear.

“Zex! Where are you?” Demyx yelled.

After a couple hours, it was beginning to get dark so they had to call off their search until it was light out. Neither of them were happy about the situation, and neither was Xemnas when they reported back to him, but there was no way for them to find Zexion in the darkness. Drenched and discouraged, they went up to their rooms to change. Neither of them slept. The rain finally stopped at dawn, making it much easier for them to search. They set out together as before, loudly calling Zexion's name, earning them stares from the others on the streets.

“Dem look,” Axel said softly, pointing.

Demyx looked. They could see part of a black cloak fluttering in the wind. Both of them ran forward. Zexion was lying face down in the middle of an alley in a large puddle, his head twisted to the side. From the position he was in, it looked as though he had fallen and not gotten up. He was drenched from head to toe. Axel and Demyx rushed to his side and turned him on his back. His eyes were closed and his skin was deathly pale. The only indication that he was still alive was his raspy, uneven breathing that was occasionally punctured by a string of coughs. Axel gently put a hand to Zexion's cheek. As expected, his skin was freezing. He looked up at Demyx, who was watching him anxiously.

“We have to get him inside. Fast.”

Demyx nodded and stood up. Axel swiftly swept Zexion into his arms and lifted him up bridal style. Demyx was on his phone before they even left the alley, talking with someone in a low, anxious voice. The conversation barely lasted five minutes. When Demyx hung up, he turned to Axel.

“Vexen is going to meet us at the entrance to the headquarters. He's going to have a look at Zexion, but there's no guarantee that he's going to be able to help him. We may have to take him to a hospital. The only problem is that there isn't a hospital large enough for a while.”

“I know,” Axel whispered.

Twilight Town was a small enough town that they didn't have a hospital. They had doctors, but no hospital. The closest hospital was an hour away in Radiant Garden.

“What do we do?” Demyx asked.

“Pray.” Axel smiled ruefully.

It was not what Demyx wanted to hear.

To be continued...

A/N: The scene with the video is supposed to be vague. I made it that way because it's an important part of my upcoming fic, To Create a Life, which is the sequel to To Save a Life and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. You'll just have to wait and read To Create a Life to find out what happened! :P