"Admit it, Axel, your time limit's run out, and we only got one new member despite how many bones I got broken in Port Royal."
Axel shrugged, not wanting to admit defeat. "We're still close enough to count, timewise."
Demyx sighed and rolled his eyes. "Axel, I've been playing sitar for two weeks, which required that a. my sitar put itself back together and b. my arm put itself back together. It's already too late for Xanrivash to break your record for shortest time at the bottom by about two weeks. Don't make me prove I can laugh at you without cringing; it's not in my nature to make fun of people, but..."
"Not in your nature - yeah, right."
"What are you two talking about?"
"Ah, sorry, Rox." Axel half-smiled to himself, as if about to let Roxas in on a private joke. "I dunno if you've noticed or not, but it seems like whenever Demyx breaks something, we get a new member. Remember, when you first joined, he was laid up with a broken shoulderblade. When Marluxia joined, he was on crutches. When Larxene joined, his hand was in a cast. And...well, you know what sort of spectacular damage he'd suffered in Xanrivash's case...gotcha!"
Roxas groaned as Axel gave his video game character a thorough hiding. "You were just distracting me so you could do that."
"Hey, I resent that. I was trying to explain the joke to you. I just took the opportunity to kick your ass while I was at it."
Demyx snorted. "For once. Seems to me, Roxas gets most of the luck on his machine."
"Well, Roxas and I each know our way around our own consoles best...but since we do most of our playing on Roxas's PS3, I'm starting to learn my way around that pretty well myself. And it's starting to show."
"Hmph. Maybe we should play with the Xbox more often. That way I can learn to kick you around like a football there as well as here."
Demyx shook his head in bewilderment. "You two might as well be speaking Naja'tar, as far as I'm concerned. I think the only video game I'll ever know how to play is Guitar Hero."
Axel and Roxas looked at each other. "That's it. We have got to get Demyx hooked."
"Don't even think about it!" Demyx held up his hands defensively. "I value my free time, thank you kindly the door's over there!"
"Demyx, it's my door, I don't have to leave if I don't want to..."
"Too bad, 'cause you're about to have to, dude."
Roxas glared. "Xigbar, do you ever knock?"
"I heard him do it once," Demyx offered. Roxas glared at him too.
"So, what's up?" Axel finally got around to asking.
"The boss has called an emergency meeting. And you -" Xigbar pointed at Demyx "- are finally fit to attend it."
Demyx, who'd been exempt from attending meetings during his lengthy recovery from three days in the hands of a lynch mob, rolled his eyes. "I knew recovery had its disadvantages."
"I know who you can talk to to get yourself back in a cast again, dude."
"Saix. See, I know too. I'll take the meeting."
"Smart choice. See you in five."
As soon as Xigbar was gone, Axel leaned in close. "I bet it's about a new member."
Demyx sighed. "If you want to bet, take it up with Luxord. At the meeting." He teleported directly to his seat - it was the only real way to get into it, considering how far off the ground they were. Well, Xigbar could walk up to his, and it turned out Xanrivash could climb into hers - though where she found the handholds Demyx still wasn't sure - but for most of them, teleportation was the only route possible. Soon enough, Axel and Roxas appeared in their own chairs. Nice of you to show up, he signed to them.
If it's a new member, you owe me, Axel signed back.
I don't think I ever agreed to that. Roxas, did I ever agree to that?
I don't think so. Nice try, Axel. Demyx might have signed a response, but he noticed Zexion glaring at the three of them and put his hands down. Zexion was the only other member who understood sign language, and the only one who might realize when they were using it to chat idly before - and even during - meetings.
As soon as Vexen showed up - late and looking a little harried; apparently his latest experiment wasn't going as well as it could have - the meeting could begin. Demyx, as usual, found himself zoning out during the Superior's usual mind-numbing speech about Kingdom Hearts, which wasn't a bad thing - he did some of his best composing while listening to Xemnas drone. Though if the point of this meeting is to listen to him sing love songs to Kingdom Hearts, I feel a little cheated...
"Finally, the reason I summoned all of us here..." Demyx took that as a cue to straighten up and actually pay attention, while still trying not to forget the music he'd been working on. "As some of you may already be aware, a fifteenth stone has appeared in the Proof of Existence - Eight, dare I ask what it is you find so amusing?"
AN: (snickers) And with that, I leave you hanging for a bit. Wow, a prologue. I haven't done one of those since "Whoever Katrina Is".
Ennyway. This is going to be a crossover with Nexus War (ever heard of that? It's kind of like Urban Dead), because I wanted to see the Trio (and Zexion) in the Nexus. This means the mysterious new member is a denizen of the Nexus. In case you're really curious, Nexus War has its own Wiki.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Nexus War, got it memorized?