Well, this only took me forever to put up! D: I really hit a low point in my writing as far as Kingdom Hearts goes until I finally found my ability to write or something. O.o Arrows and torches are perfectly acceptable to throw at me and/or chase me down. I am so sorry for the wait. Just letting you know I'm not dead!
So, I'm doing something in two parts again. I said I wouldn't but I lied. I just needed to post this in order to move on to the next part. This poor thing was stuck in my flash drive, begging to be set free. So it was cleaned up, edited to my liking, and now is presentable I believe!
And on a side note, I'm all hyped to play 'The World Ends With You'. Anyone else share my sentiments? Just as well, I am WIRED for '358/2' to come out! Yay!
Anyways, without further ado, I present the next chapter. :D
DISCLAIMER: If I owned this, or anything else Squeenix related, all the good games would get 'M' ratings, no doubt!
WARNING: This chapter includes a Marly gigglefit, OOC-LemurCatta!Zexion, some foreshadowing, and a good deal of hanging from cliffs!
"Deep Jungle is an untouched island paradise covered in a thick jungle that is filled with a great number of strange and wonderful animals," Marluxia read off a paper from Zexion's notebook. His eyes looked down to an etching of a strange gray, black, and white creature with large eyes and a long striped tail. "What the heck is that thing?"
Zexion looked over from his seat where the Xemnas-given coat was laying in his lap. "Oh, that's a ring-tailed lemur."
"It's weird," Marluxia stated, tilting the notebook from side to side. "It looks like a mix between a cat, a monkey, and a raccoon."
"They're very rare and indigenous to that jungle," Zexion said quietly, holding up the coat and looking at the back. "I wonder what this coat is made of…"
Marluxia flipped a page in the notebook so that a picture of a chameleon hanging upside-down from a tree faced him. "I've only been to Deep Jungle once and I never saw any of these things. I saw a couple monkeys, an iguana, and a gigantic cockroach, but that was about it."
"I believe you only skirted along the premises of the island then," Zexion said dully, forcing his arms back into the coat and zipping it up. He flexed his left arm in the coat and carefully watched the fibers surrounding the elbow. "Fascinating…"
Marluxia rolled his eyes and flipped another page. "Are you going to be a fashion designer now?"
"No," Zexion retorted. "I was merely observing the fibers of material in the coat. They're remarkably different from the regular coat fibers. These fibers are made from some fabric I have never seen before."
"Okay, you're not going to be a fashion designer. You're going to work at a fabric store," Marluxia snorted. He read a paragraph of notes before sighing. "Your notes are boring."
"Thank you for your subtle and oh-so creative criticism," the Schemer said while rolling his eyes. He gently tugged on his sleeve and examined it. Then he brought the sleeve up to his nose and sniffed it. "There isn't even a scent on it!"
"Scratch being a fabric store employee. You're going to be a hound," Marluxia said, bursting out laughing and going as far to slap himself in the knee in hysterics.
"XI, has anyone told you that you have the sense of humor of a brick wall?" That just seemed to make Marluxia laughed harder and he covered his face in the notebook to keep his laughter muffled. Zexion grimaced and let go of his sleeve. "Stop laughing on my notebook. You're going to cover it in saliva." Marluxia let out a strange shriek of laughter and began kicking the floor and hitting the side of the chair. Zexion huffed in annoyance and stood up. He grabbed the notebook from Marluxia's face and hit him smartly in the head. That did nothing to keep the Assassin from laughing but seem to make him only laugh harder. "What is so funny?" Zexion snapped.
"You…saliva…bricks!" Marluxia snorted, covering his mouth with one hand and slapping the armrest of the chair with the other. "Hahaha! Lemurs!" he screeched before covering his face with both hands and giggling hysterically.
"I'll just wait until you regain your sanity," the Schemer sighed, sitting down and opening the notebook, frowning when he found a small splatter of fluid on the page with the chameleon on it. "XI, you drooled on the chameleon."
A horrible shriek of laughter escaped Marluxia, rivaling Larxene's insane laughter. He bent over the side of the chair and stopped making noise for a minute, the only sign of life being a quick vibration-like shaking in his back. Zexion watched him for a moment, finding himself a bit worried until Marluxia took in a deep breath and resumed laughing again. "You're reminding me of a hyena," Zexion remarked, using the sleeve of his coat to attempt to wipe away some of the saliva.
"I…hate…hyenas!" Marluxia said between giggles, smacking the poor armrest again and biting some of his fingers on his other hand to contain himself. A quiet beeping coming from the dashboard suddenly interrupted his laughter. Zexion sat the notebook down on the seat and walked over to it, examining the controls and screens. "We are within thirty miles of Deep Jungle."
Marluxia finally began to quiet down until just a few small giggles escaped his mouth. "That's great," he said, another small laugh coming out.
"Glad to see you're regaining what sanity you had left XI," Zexion murmured, sitting back down and resting the notebook in his lap. He went through several pages until he was on the picture of the lemur. "Now as for our next plan of action…we must find the core of the world quickly. I'd like to not waste any time on this mission."
"Can't we rest at some point?" Marluxia asked, finally over his giggle fit and now sliding down into his chair. "We've gone through two worlds and it hasn't even really been a full two days yet. I mean, this place is an island paradise, right?"
"XI, you can't be saying we need to make a vacation out of this," Zexion said, glancing over at the mauve-haired man.
"When was the last time you got a vacation?"
"I don't need to take them, and neither do you."
"This is probably why everyone in the Organization other than the psycho and the brick-head doesn't like to talk to you," Marluxia said off-handedly, looking up at the glass dome of the cockpit.
"Sometimes I wonder why I resist the urge to slap you," Zexion mumbled, flipping a page of the notebook and examining its contents.
"Aw, you don't mean it," the Assassin said, conjuring his best charming smile.
"I mean every word I say, an exception being sarcasm."
There was a long pause before Marluxia sat up straight, sighing wistfully. "It's pretty sad, considering that the weather there is some of the best anywhere, and it's got a perfect white sandy beach…"
Zexion slammed the notebook shut and glared at Marluxia. "Alright, fine, we'll stay there for awhile and relax! Now will you shut up already?"
Marluxia grinned at the fuming Schemer and leaned back again, letting out an over-exaggerated yawn. "Besides, you can go and observe some lemurs or whatever. I'll just lie on the beach with one of those little umbrella drinks and a mango or something."
"I don't believe they serve umbrella drinks at uninhabited islands," Zexion said while seething, the muscles in his arm flexing to throw the notebook at the Assassin's head.
Marluxia completely ignored him and continued musing about the beach. "Y'know, I really wish Xigbar was with us. I always thought he would be good at surfing. Then again, maybe Demyx would be better, seeing as how he can control water and all. Heck, I wish both of them were here."
"You keep wishing that," Zexion murmured, opening the notebook once again and reading its contents.
The very sight of Deep Jungle caused Marluxia to sigh in happiness. "Just look at it Zexion. The ideal spot for a perfect vacation…"
"XI, I never said we were taking a vacation. I said we could relax for awhile," Zexion said, working the controls as to make a good landing.
"Well I'm considering it a vacation."
"That's good for you. Just don't forget we have a job to do."
Marluxia rolled his eyes as the ship began to make its landing. "I know, I know… However, I'm not looking forward to our transformations. I wasn't all too delighted with being a womanly guy last time."
Zexion paused before a short and quiet giggle ran through him. He coughed to stop himself and just managed to look slightly amused. "I can make an attempt to assure you XI; you will not turn into a…woman." The word came out slightly choked with laughter and Marluxia just raised an eyebrow.
"You're…giggling."
"I'm terribly sorry," Zexion snorted, concealing his mouth with a gloved hand. "I'm not entirely sure what has gotten in to me. Perhaps I should just land the ship."
"Yeah, perhaps," Marluxia responded, grimacing at the thought of what transformation awaited them.
The landing was relatively smooth and Zexion managed to land the ship in a thin grove of twisting and winding trees. The ship would be well hidden behind the thickets and labyrinth of branches surrounding it. However, the area wasn't want Zexion worried about. The transformation ended up becoming the largest problem.
Marluxia's transformation went smoothly. And just as he wished, his form was not feminine. Instead, his hair shortened and turned an oaken brown color and his eyes became a greenish-blue shade. His clothes resembled ones worn by members of a safari party. A pith helmet topped his head and a khaki shirt and pants outfit covered the rest of him.
Just after he transformed, Zexion was also enveloped in the mass of white light before disappearing completely. After several moments with no reappearance, Marluxia paused and looked around. "Zexy?"
There was a low growl from somewhere in the ship followed by a strange sort of whimper. "I'm…down here."
Marluxia's eyes slowly lowered until green-blue met bright orange eyes. By his feet was the same small cat-like raccoon creature he had seen in Zexion's notebook beforehand. The creature, apparently called a lemur, blinked up at him, its long, striped tail flicking back and forth. The Assassin gaped at it before finding a smattering of words somewhere in his clouded mind. "Z-Zexion? Are you a…?"
"Yes XI, I'm a…lemur," the creature responded, ears lowering slightly in obvious irritation.
There was a long silence before a booming laugh escaped Marluxia. "I can't believe it! You're a lemur!" Just as before, Marluxia went headfirst into a crazed laughing fit.
"XI, this isn't funny! This is a serious situation!" Zexion screeched, his voice coming out in a strange held-out chirp. The only response he received was more psychotic laughter from Marluxia who was at the point of gasping for breath. Zexion rolled his eyes and began to walk towards the hatch of the Gummi ship. "Let's just get out of here and get this done."
"R-right," Marluxia snorted, following his primate companion.
Zexion found it was harder to walk on four legs than he had anticipated. He stumbled a little once he touched the ground. He also discovered that if he held his long striped tail high enough, it felt a little easier to walk. Marluxia just walked beside him, a permanent grin on his face that he attempted to conceal with his hands. It was a failed attempt and only managed to irritate the Schemer.
"You know XI, I can see you laughing," he said during their walk to wherever it was that Zexion was going.
"Sorry," the Assassin responded with a grin. "U-um, where are we going?"
Zexion took a tentative sniff of the air. "I smell human not too far off. I believe it's a human camp."
"Pretty good for someone who isn't human," Marluxia laughed.
"Lemurs have very sharp claws and teeth XI. I don't think I would hesitate to dig both into one of your body parts if you persist with the comments."
Yet again, Marluxia raised a hand to his mouth and let out a cough of laughter. In the mean time, Zexion stumbled a little in an attempt to walk correctly. His new body wasn't entirely accustomed to the strange legs of a lemur or the feeling of the jungle floor under his…paws. It certainly wasn't a sanitary experience.
After several minutes, he looked up at Marluxia, specifically the Assassin's shoulder. It seemed like a good resting place and with the size of the new body he could certainly fit. However, asking to sit on Marluxia's shoulder was certainly a downgrade in the Schemer's pride. Yet he was feeling tired and not in the mood to learn how to walk like a lemur. "XI…" he murmured.
"Hm?"
"Can I…" Zexion began, pausing for a moment as though some more genius part of him would completely reconsider. When nothing came, he kept going. "Can I ride on your shoulder?"
There was another awkward pause before a laugh forced its way out of Marluxia. He quickly silenced it, visibly biting his lip to keep his mouth from opening and instead giving him the impression of having an incredibly distorted grin. Therefore, he merely nodded instead of offering a verbal answer. Zexion eagerly jumped onto his companion's shoulder and allowed himself a quick sigh of relief. Marluxia snorted again and looked at Zexion with cobalt eyes. "Is it better up here?"
"Certainly better than the germ breeding ground I was walking on earlier," Zexion responded, wrapping his tail around the back of Marluxia's neck to keep his balance.
"Well," Marluxia began, stepping over a lone raised root. "Just tell me where to go from here."
In response, Zexion sniffed the air again and raised a small hand up, pointing at the forest in front of them. "Keep going this way. The camp is not too far. There should be a river before you get to the bamboo thicket where the camp is located."
"Apparently lemurs make good compasses," Marluxia mused with a grin.
"I'm no better in directions than I was in my normal form XI," Zexion murmured, flicking his tail back and forth and staring into the forest.
"Well, either way, what exactly are we looking for other than people?"
There was a strange hesitant aura emanating from Zexion before he spoke. "For once XI, I'm hardly sure of what to look for. There's much to look through here and we hardly have time to look through all of it."
"And that means?"
"It means…we need help. There must be someone in the camp who has an inkling of what we're looking for. We may have to ask psychological questions to find it, but it's our best chance."
"What exactly are we supposed to ask?"
"That I'm also not sure of. Perhaps we ask if there is anything interesting they find with the jungle? Any oddities?"
"I guess that's as good as anything," Marluxia said, pushing aside a long branch.
"It's the best I can do in my current situation," Zexion said grudgingly, taking a moment to examine one spider-like hand. "At least I still have opposable thumbs."
As they walked in silence, Zexion took the time to observe the forest, trying to identify every sound and movement that he noticed. However, one noise stuck out to him. Deep within the forest was a series of faint chirps that the Schemer could not properly identify. They were high-pitched and irregular, like a fast-paced conversation. However, Zexion found he could almost understand it and he became excited, feeling his tail twitch and his back leg muscles coil as though to pounce.
"Zex, what's wrong?" Marluxia asked, alerting Zexion that the Assassin noticed.
"Nothing…" Zexion said quietly, then reconsidered his answer. "Do you hear anything unusual XI?"
Marluxia paused in his walk and looked around before walking again with a smirk. "Zexion, everything here sounds unusual to me. You're going to have to give me specifics."
"Like some kind of chirping. It's…very odd."
"Is it a bird?"
"Not quite."
"Then I have no clue. I can only hear birds."
"I see," Zexion replied, shutting the conversation off. He brought his tail over to his small hands and absent-mindedly groomed it to keep it still. He barely paid attention to it and instead let his large eyes roam over the trees. The chirping persisted, making him more nervous. 'I suppose my current state is surely shadowing my Nobody state. I cannot recall the last time I felt so many…emotions…' he thought to himself, combing his tail quickly.
Suddenly, a loud bang resounded through the forest, quieting all other sounds. Marluxia stopped dead in his tracks, looking around quickly. "What was that?"
"Gunfire," Zexion responded, lowering his tail and sniffing the air. "It's very close. And whoever it was…missed," he finished with a lop-sided grin.
"Is it from the camp?"
"I believe so."
Marluxia hesitantly began walking again, finding himself irrationally nervous. "Zex? Are you sure you want to keep going?"
"Absolutely XI. We have no reason to stop now."
"If you insist…"
"And I do," Zexion replied curtly.
For a long while, the two traversed the jungle path. Obviously, the time was reaching the mid-afternoon as the humid heat of the jungle became almost unbearable to Marluxia. He panted as he pushed through branches and vines, kicking aside stray roots and ferns. Zexion, on the other hand, was perfectly content with the humidity and heat. He continued clinging to his tail and looking around with half-interest, deducing everything that seemed a mystery.
Another loud bang pierced the air and Marluxia stopped again, feeling as though all the air had been pushed out of him. "That one was closer."
"Then we're almost there," Zexion answered.
"How close?"
A thin black finger pointed forward and Marluxia squinted ahead. A small grin split across his face as long yellow and green bamboo broke through the dark green jungle. The Assassin found himself running up to the bamboo, refraining from doing a dance of victory. He began pushing through the long chutes before a loud bang interrupted him and a bullet whizzed above his head. He stopped dead and paled. Zexion darted behind his head and looked above his hat in fear.
"Mr. Clayton!" a feminine voice bellowed.
"Miss Porter, I was merely trying to keep the camp safe!" an annoyingly suave male voice responded.
"I don't care what you were trying to do! You could have shot a gorilla!" the female shot back, her voice full of scorn.
In the thicket, Marluxia and Zexion looked at each other, silently agreeing not to move. Zexion kept his grip tight on the rim of Marluxia's hat and lowered his head so it was half-buried in Marluxia's hair. The Assassin took a deep breath and whispered as quietly as he could, "Zex, I think you should go in first."
"Are you insane?" Zexion whispered back in surprise.
"No, you're fuzzy and cute and probably a rare animal to them. They'll see that there was no danger and then I can go in."
"But what if I'm too shocking in appearance? What if I get shot at?"
"You have legs. You can run," Marluxia responded coolly.
"Just go in. They'll see a human and trust you instantly," Zexion said, using his most logical tone of voice.
"You're being a coward again."
"No, you are."
"Miss Porter!" the male voice shouted, silencing both Organization members. "There is indeed something in that thicket!"
"Then leave it alone!" the woman shouted back.
The male grumbled under his breath and the two could hear his footsteps approaching the thicket. "What do we do?" Marluxia whispered in panic.
However, there was no time for answer or action as the shoots in front of them violently parted and both found a gun barrel aimed at their faces. Zexion uncharacteristically squeaked in fear and Marluxia let out a shout of surprise.
"A man?" the male holding the gun asked, lowering the barrel much to the duo's relief. The man was tall and broad shouldered, obviously used to carrying himself proudly. He wore an outfit remarkably similar to Marluxia's except with longer pants and no hat. His peppered hair was neatly combed back with a great deal of hair grease. A thin mustache sat above thin lips under a pointed nose and proud eyes. He held the gun with his left hand and pointed it at the ground, looking curiously at the strange pair. "And you are?"
"What's going on?" the female voice shouted again. A young brunette woman dashed out of a tent, dressed in a white tank top and a long brown skirt. Her hair was piled haphazardly on top of her head and wide blue eyes looked at the two in confusion.
"This man was in the thicket," the man responded, his eyes flicking back and forth from the girl to Marluxia. "With that…thing," he said, gesturing with his right hand to Zexion.
"Hey!" Zexion shot back, unable to resist.
"Oh, it's a lemur!" the woman said in delight as though Zexion hadn't just talked.
"A what?" the man asked.
"Lemur catta," she said with a certain air of intelligence. "A ring-tailed lemur! I've only read of them. I've never actually seen one!"
"Wait, what?" Marluxia finally asked. There was too much going on at once and it certainly confused him.
"Oh, yes, terribly sorry dear man," the tall man said. "My sincerest apologies. I am Caspar Clayton, expert hunter and guard on this expedition."
"And I am Jane Porter," the woman said, holding out a delicate hand to Marluxia. "My father and I have come here from England to study gorillas!"
Marluxia shook Jane's hand with some confusion, still unsure of the situation. He cleared his throat and nodded. "A pleasure to meet you Miss Porter, as well as Mr. Clayton."
"Indeed," Clayton said, placing his rifle back in its holder. "Now who might you be?"
"Why do you need to know?" Zexion said, glaring at Clayton.
"My, what a chatty beast that is," Clayton remarked.
"Yes, lemurs are known for their chirping and odd noises as such," Jane said swiftly. "Now, sir, your name?"
However, Marluxia was staring at them, bewildered. "You mean you didn't hear him just talk?"
Clayton blinked at him. "Talk? Who? You mean the little beast on your shoulder?"
Zexion growled tightly wound his tail around Marluxia's neck. Marluxia was still a little surprised when he came to his realization. 'I'm the only one that can understand what Zexion is saying! It just sounds like chirps to them!' He straightened up instantly and forced a grin. "Sorry, I was just playing around. Sad attempt at a joke really."
Clayton gave Marluxia a half-smile as though he was somewhat concerned about the Assassin's sanity. "Ah, a fair jest either way. Now, your name?"
"R-right, my name is…" he trailed off, suddenly at a loss for words.
"Aramaeus Lindsey McArthur!" Zexion whispered in Marluxia's ear.
"What?"
"Just say it! It sounds like an explorer name!"
With Clayton and Jane still looking at him as though he was foaming at the mouth, Marluxia laughed hesitantly. "Right, my name is Aramaeus Lindsey McArthur…Esquire."
Obviously, the name left a much better impression on Jane and Clayton than Marluxia had anticipated. Jane's strained look became more relaxed and Clayton let his hand inch away from the gun a little more. He nodded and walked a little closer to the duo. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr. McArthur."
"Please, call me Aramaeus," Marluxia said, obviously playing off his prestigious sounding name. He could almost hear Zexion's eyes rolling.
"Yes, Aramaeus… May I ask what you are doing out in the jungle?"
"Oh, you know… Gathering specimens, doing some…hunting," Marluxia said, grinning at the inside joke.
"Ah, a man after my own heart!" Clayton said, eagerly clapping Marluxia on the shoulder that didn't have a lemur on it. "So you do find thrill in the hunt!"
"Yes sir, I do."
"How long have you been on the island?" Jane asked.
"Say six months," Zexion whispered.
"Six months," Marluxia repeated.
"Oh good! Then you must have seen some gorillas!"
"Uh… Yes! Actually they tore up my camp, which is why I'm out here," Marluxia lied.
"That was pushing it, but alright," Zexion muttered, looking at the camp from above Marluxia's hat.
"Finally! Now we know there are gorillas on this island!" Jane exclaimed, relief visibly washing over her.
"Oh yes, big gorillas," Marluxia added, nodding solemnly. "Two of my men were…dragged into the forest by them."
"XI, you're really pushing it now," Zexion said, bringing his face close to Marluxia's.
Jane peeked around to get a good look at Zexion. She walked up to him and gently scratched under his chin. In response, Zexion let out a strange purr and closed his eyes, his tail twitching in satisfaction. Jane laughed and continued scratching. "May I ask how you found such an extraordinary creature Mr. McArthur?"
"Just found him on a hike one day I suppose. He just hopped up there and didn't leave," the Assassin said, grinning at the strange uncharacteristic reaction Jane was getting from the normally stoic Schemer.
"Have you seen any more of them? Or the gorillas?" Clayton asked, his eyebrows raised in excitement.
"Well, just a few lemurs I suppose. I haven't seen very many gorillas."
Clayton suddenly looked dejected. "How unfortunate. I was really hoping it would speed up our trip."
Jane whirled around, earning a strange chirp of protest from Zexion who did some kind of lemur pout. The woman crossed her arms and huffed. "Mr. Clayton, you know very well we will take as much time as possible to study the gorillas." She turned back to Marluxia who just blinked, still bewildered. "Mr. McArthur, would you care to assist us in finding the gorillas? We can give you an extra tent and I'm sure Daddy wouldn't mind an extra set of hands."
"Say yes!" Zexion demanded.
"Um, alright," Marluxia said, nodding.
"Very well," Jane chirped. She went somewhere within the camp, leaving the duo alone with Clayton who took the time to survey. A smug grin inched onto his face and he leaned forward to Zexion, causing the lemur Schemer to let out a hiss.
"I don't believe the primate needs a tent? Perhaps he would be better off outside tonight."
Zexion backed up on his perch and glared at Clayton. "You're lucky that woman is here. If she wasn't, I'd shred your face off!"
"My, is he a chatty creature," Clayton said off-handedly, looking a little irritated.
"Yes, he has a temper," Marluxia replied. "But I'm not letting him sleep outside. Where I go, he goes."
"Oh how nice, you actually care about my well-being," Zexion snorted.
"Poor Miss Porter," Clayton said dramatically. "She's been working so hard and soon has to clean up after a little monkey."
"I am not a monkey!" Zexion screeched. "Get it right! Le-mur!"
"Too bad he doesn't speak English," Clayton snorted. "He's such a conversational little fellow."
Marluxia couldn't help but laugh. "You have no idea."
"Oh boys!" Jane hollered, dashing out of her tent with a huge smile on her face. She came to a halt beside them and grinned. "Daddy said you're more than welcome in our camp. He'll be out to meet you in a moment. He's most interested in the lemur."
"Well at least someone respects me," Zexion scoffed.
"Oh goodness!" a high-pitched male voice shouted from Jane's tent before a short mustached man tottered out. He let out a hoot of joy and ran up to the group, completely ignoring the rest of them and instead standing up on the points of his toes to look at Zexion who in turn backed up. "What a magnificent specimen!"
"A talkative one too," Clayton murmured.
Jane's father completely brushed off the comment and looked at Zexion from side to side. He gently lifted the striped tail and examined it with interest. "Exactly twenty-three stripes. Not one off!"
"What were you expecting?" Zexion asked snidely.
"Shut up," Marluxia snapped, lightly tapping the Schemer on the head.
"And look at these fingers Jane!"
"Oh Daddy, it's amazing! It has opposable thumbs even!" Jane said with an obvious thrill in her voice.
"Yes, all very fascinating," Clayton drawled. "Mr. Porter, shouldn't we be getting ready for dinner? The sun is setting now and I'm sure we don't want to have to deal with the insects like last time."
"I suppose," Jane's father answered, putting down Zexion's hand with disappointment. "Jane darling, can you fire up the stove?"
"Yes Daddy!" Jane replied, dashing over to the stove. With speed that the two Organization members could hardly process, she managed to fit three pots onto the stove and begin cooking. Her father set the small wooden table that was obviously meant for double use as a chemistry laboratory. Clayton walked around the clearing in the thicket, keeping his eyes open for any possible danger, or completely avoiding chores due to laziness. Marluxia walked up to Jane hesitantly.
"Um, Miss Porter? Is there anything we-I mean I can do?"
Jane blushed, put a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and shook her head. "Oh no Mr. McArthur! We have it all taken care of! Just set up your tent as you'd like."
"Where's the tent?"
She pointed off somewhere in the southern direction of the clearing. "Just clear out one of the storage tents. We'll move it around later."
"Alright," Marluxia said, walking where she had pointed.
Once he had reached his destination, he sighed in irritation. At least six tents filled with barrels and boxes surrounded them. He looked around quickly to make sure no human was within hearing distance before he looked over to Zexion. "What do we do Zex?"
"Pick one and take the storage out, just like Jane said."
"Well I figured that much. I mean what do we do with this camp?"
Zexion let out a sigh and shook his head. "I'm sure we'll figure that out tonight. If I'm correct, lemurs are remotely nocturnal. Of course, they like the day as much as night, but I figure either way, I'll be certainly active tonight."
"That's helpful," Marluxia agreed. "However, why have you been talking like that today? I've never heard you be so impolite…even when you're trying to be impolite."
"I have no idea. I guess I just feel more natural since no one but you can understand me."
"It's kind of funny actually," the Assassin snorted, walking up to one of the tents closest to the wall of bamboo of the thicket. He pulled out a barrel and placed it in front of the tent beside him.
"Do you?"
"Yeah, it's funny hearing you talk like that for once," Marluxia said, taking a box out of the tent.
"Maybe I should do it more often," Zexion grinned, leaping off Marluxia's shoulder and onto one of the lone barrels. From there, he mindlessly groomed his tail and watched his partner stack crates and roll barrels. "Enjoying yourself XI?"
"Immensely," Marluxia snorted sarcastically. "You're lucky you're about the size of a cat or else I'd be making you do this."
"I suppose I am lucky."
"The least you can do is start…scheming or whatever you do."
"You have a point," Zexion said, placing his tail over his bent knees and staring into the thicket in thought.
For a long while, he sat there thinking and Marluxia cleared the tent. When the tent was cleared, Marluxia dug into a crate and retrieved a single bedroll, placing it in the tent. He pushed the flap aside and entered it, taking a moment before poking his head out. "You want to come in?"
"In a moment XI. I believe I have concocted an idea."
"Enlighten me."
Zexion jumped off the barrel and awkwardly walked to the tent, sitting in front of the flap. "If I'm still capable of conjuring illusions, even small ones, we may use these people to our advantage."
"How do you suggest we do that?"
"Lure them into a false sense of security of course," the Schemer replied as though it was the most obvious thing he could say. "If I can possibly do that, it won't be hard to find what we're looking for. Of course, with any opposition, we'll have to take drastic measures." He mulled on the word and looked up at Marluxia with amber eyes.
"You mean kill them."
"Precisely."
"I have no problem with that," Marluxia nodded. "I bet you I can summon my scythe here anyways. They'd be dead before they would even know what hit them."
"I figured you wouldn't have a problem. Despite your fervent show of emotions, you're still a Nobody deep down."
"Yeah, I realize that from time to time, especially when it comes to these situations."
Zexion leaned back and let out a strange purr of satisfaction. "However, I'll still try my plan of illusion first. I'll begin the illusion tonight when they're sleeping so they will wake up in an alternate state of consciousness."
"One completely willing to obey us."
"I'm surprised XI," Zexion said with a grin. "You catch on quickly."
"I told you Zex, I'm not stupid."
"As I have told you before XI, I never said you were."
Marluxia grinned and stepped out of the tent, stretching. "So what do I do when you're doing your thing?"
"Prepare, sleep, explore, I really don't care. Just always be ready in case something goes awry."
"Simple enough," Marluxia answered. "Maybe I should go somewhere and practice with the scythe a little? The last world messed me up."
"A fair enough plan. I would suggest you try to fit in some exploring. What we cannot gain from these people, you may possibly be able to attain."
"I guess I could."
"Very well. Now let's try to fraternize while we can. Whatever sense of security we can give them without an illusion is absolutely precious and essential."
"Right, and you'll do some fraternizing yourself?"
Zexion rolled his eyes and jumped back onto Marluxia's shoulder. "I suppose I can do my part."
"That means no hissing or sounding insulting, even if all you do is chirp," the Assassin said with a grin.
"I thought you said you enjoy it."
"For now, keep it down. It's your plan anyways," Marluxia said, walking back towards the center of the camp.
"Alright, fine," Zexion replied in irritation. "That is, unless that big oaf says something out of line. If he does, he won't have a face in the morning."
Marluxia managed a laugh. "Fine, that's the only exception."
Dinner was a remotely pleasant situation. The newly formed group contented themselves on eating some thick pea soup and crusty bread while Zexion happily indulged on some wild fruits Jane had found the day before on an exploration. While eating, Jane and her father watched Zexion intently as he picked seeds out of a deep purple fruit. Jane laughed and shook her head. "Such a fascinating creature! I never knew lemurs were so precise about their eating habits."
Marluxia uncomfortably swallowed a particularly hard piece of bread and nodded with a grin. "Yeah, he's pretty unique."
"It's a shame we don't have more time on the island," Jane replied wistfully, examining a lone seed Zexion had catapulted across the table. "If we could finish our research on the gorillas, I would be delighted to do some research on the lemur communities."
"What an idea Jane!" her father replied happily. "If we could convince the team to let us stay, I believe we would gain most beneficial results!"
Clayton suddenly slammed his spoon into his bowl and coughed. "That's preposterous Professor! Don't you want to return home at all?"
"Mr. Clayton, I am a professional at my work," the Professor replied proudly. "I feel very much so at home on this island. My research is more important to me than returning to my home."
"Agreed," Jane said curtly, dipping some bread into her soup. She turned her attention to Marluxia, ignoring Clayton's angered face. "Mr. McArthur, may I ask what brought you to this island?"
Marluxia bit his lip and looked at Zexion who merely continued hacking the fruit apart. He let out a sigh and shrugged. "I guess you could call it research. I'm particularly interested in the flora of this island. I'm a bit of a botanist back home."
"Good one," murmured Zexion halfway through a large bite of fruit.
"And has your journey proved to be a success?" Jane asked.
Marluxia nodded and pointed to the bamboo. "All of this completely amazes me. I've never seen bamboo grow this tall and in such a group. Next to that, there are flowers here that I don't believe have even been classified!" He could hardly lie about any of that. In truth, he had been deeply impressed and excited by the abundance of plant life on the island.
Jane's father got up and placed the bowl in a makeshift sink that consisted of two barrels sliced in half and filled with water and soap. He bristled his mustache and a glint of excitement filled his eyes. "I assume you've been up at the waterfall area?"
"Waterfall?" Marluxia asked in confusion.
"Oh yes! It's such a delightful area! It's also a pachyderm stomping ground."
"Pachyderm means elephant XI," Zexion said dully. Marluxia just rolled his eyes and grinned at the Professor.
"How far is this place?"
"Just up through the highlands a way. I'm sure you can make it there in a day's time if you leave early enough in the morning."
"Sounds good to me," Marluxia said with excitement, getting up and placing his bowl in the sink as well. "So I should probably get to resting tonight, right?"
Jane nodded with equal thrill. "Absolutely! It's a rather hard journey up there and you'll need your energy. Would you like me to wake you?"
"Oh no, I have my own personal alarm clock," Marluxia joked, jerking a thumb at Zexion who had stuffed the rest of the fruit into his mouth, puffing out his cheeks and making him look quite comical. Zexion blinked at him with wide amber eyes and stood up on four legs, leaping to the ground and huddling around Marluxia's ankles.
"I suppose being nocturnal would make him reliable," the Professor added with a chuckle.
Marluxia nodded, ignoring the brief snort coming from Clayton, followed by a mutter of 'little beast' following it. Zexion apparently heard it too because he let out a quite snarl of disapproval. The Assassin looked down at Zexion and laughed. "You'll wake me up, right?"
"You can wake yourself up. I'm not your mother," Zexion snapped back.
Jane let out a soft laugh. "What did he say?"
"I think it was a yes," Marluxia said with a grin, ignoring Zexion delivering a quick swipe to his ankles with his claws. "Anyways, we'd best be going to bed. We have a long day ahead of us, right?"
"You will. I'll sleep all day," came the response.
"That was another yes."
Jane reached behind a crate and handed Marluxia an unlit lantern, a smile on her face. "Alright. We'll see you tomorrow evening if we don't catch you in the morning."
"Okay, good night Jane," the Assassin tipped a hat to her. He turned to her father and tipped again. "You too Professor." He finally turned to the aggravated-looking Clayton and didn't tip the hat. "Good night Mr. Clayton."
Clayton huffed and took a large bite out of his bread, obviously playing out the theatrics. Marluxia just shrugged and lit the lantern, walking back to his tent with Zexion at his heels.
"You're acting like you can't understand me," Zexion said as Marluxia smoothed out his bedroll, the lantern casting flickering shadows on the canvas of the tent.
"Well what am I supposed to say? That I can understand every word you say? That I can speak lemur?"
"It's better than disregarding everything I say XI."
"I'm not making them think I'm crazy," the Assassin replied, taking off his hat and sliding onto the bedroll. He looked over to Zexion and smirked. "You're acting like the senseless one for once Zex."
"It's this jungle. It's making me…"
"Crazy?"
"That wasn't the word I was going to use. Nevertheless, yes XI, it's making me a tad deranged. I feel more…wild I suppose."
"Well, whatever it is, it'll have to wait until tomorrow," Marluxia said, followed by a loud yawn. "Just sleep or something."
"Very well then," Zexion replied curtly, slipping by the canvas door of the tent and laying on the bedroll, wrapping his tail around himself. "You may turn out the lantern XI."
There was no answer from Marluxia as he leaned over and turned the lantern off, laying back and staring at the top of the tent. "G'night Zex," he murmured tiredly.
"Good night XI," Zexion replied. He stayed awake, listening as a soft snore came from Marluxia. It was followed by several more until the Schemer was sure the Assassin was completely asleep. Zexion tried closing his eyes and sleeping, but no sleep came to him. He had already learned from the first day of the mission that sleeping wasn't a wise choice for him, yet he felt the need for it now after all of the traveling he had done.
Suddenly, his feet twitched without his control. After several seconds, they twitched again. He sat up straight and looked around, biting his lower lip with his pointed canines. Somewhere in the distance, the chorus of chirps and squeaks rose up, causing the feet to twitch again, followed by a tail twitch. "XI," Zexion whispered, getting no answer but snoring. He held onto his tail and looked around, eyes wide. Another chorus of chirps finally got him to stand on four legs and peek out of the canvas flap.
Outside, the world was dark to human eyes, but as light as day to Zexion's well-tuned eyes. He looked around once more before hesitantly stepping out into the small clearing within the circle of storage tents. The jungle noises only got louder once he was out in the clearing, causing him to tense up and twitch more. However, when another chorus of strange but familiar noises rose up, Zexion could no longer hold down the tribal urges within him and he senselessly took off running into the jungle beyond the thicket.
He found that once he was among the vines and trees, running on four legs suddenly became much easier. He somehow learned to completely utilize his tail for balance and soon gained speed and precision. The chirps and squeaks became louder and clearer, drawing him further in until he could no longer tell where he was. However, he didn't care. He just wanted to find the source.
Suddenly, a loud yell echoed through the forest, trilling in its course and sounding more like a battle cry. Zexion managed to halt on a branch, listening intently to the sounds of the jungle. The chirps had silenced and another trilling cry echoed eerily. It almost sounded…human, yet almost demonic at the same time. Zexion looked around the vine-covered portion of the jungle, staring intently into it. Yet he was knocked back when a dark shadow crossed his path, nearly sending him flying off the branch. He let out an unfamiliar screech and scrambled back onto the branch, looking around in panic. The jungle was unusually still and silent, leaving him nearly paralyzed on the branch.
As though nothing had ever happened, the chirps and trills of the jungle animals started again. Zexion blinked and looked around intently, gingerly resuming his original path, whatever path it was. He carefully traversed the ground, finding it somewhat frightening to run along the vines and branches again, lest he get knocked to the ground by some flying creature again. He kept his eyes wide open and sniffed the air, trying to identify any familiar scents.
"Hey!" he heard someone say and he instantly twisted around, looking each way.
"Who's there?" he asked quietly, keeping his head low to the ground.
"Up here!" said the voice. Zexion looked up to the branches above his head and was surprised to see two bright orange eyes peering at him through the darkness. They blinked once before swiftly approaching him. With a soft 'thump', the owner of the eyes landed on the ground. Much to Zexion's rarely used delight, another ring-tailed lemur sat across from him, twitching its tail happily. "Never thought I'd see another lemur on the ground before," it said happily.
"Umm…" was all Zexion could manage.
"Oh, right, sorry. I'm Eos, the matriarch of the Waterfall lemurs," she said, holding out one spider-like hand. Zexion hesitantly took the hand before drawing his back quickly. Eos tilted her head and leaped onto a branch, blinking spastically. "So why are you out here? I've never seen another lemur around here that wasn't in my group."
"I'm…new here," was all he said.
"Oh! Well, what's your name?"
"Zexion," he said quietly.
Eos scratched her head and blinked again. "That's a funny name."
"Your name is quite amusing to me as well."
"You have to be from the south part of the island. That's how they talk around there."
"No, I'm not from there either. I'm not even from this island."
"Whoa!" Eos responded, jumping back down to the ground. "I never knew there were lemurs off this island before! Where are you from?"
"Very…far away," he said, finding no better answer that wouldn't confuse her. He crossed his arms and huffed. "And I'm not a lemur either."
Eos took his tail in her spidery hands and examined it before looking into his ears and picking up his hands. "Funny, you look like one to me."
He swatted her away and let out a hiss. "You're invading my personal space. Moreover, no, I am not a lemur. I'm a man that turned into a lemur."
"A man!" Eos exclaimed, bringing one hand to her white tufted chest. "I've only seen a few, and only one in this forest!"
"Oh?" he asked with half interest, picking an invisible speck of dust off his furry arm and sighing.
"Yes, we call him He-Who-Walks-With-Gorillas. My little brother just calls him Gorilla Man."
Zexion paused in his picking to look at Eos in surprise. In his mind, the gears started turning and he started coming to realizations. He played back the scene on the branch and the trilling cry slowly in his head, pausing mental pictures and deducing silently. Taking a steady breath, he looked over at Eos. "This…man… Does he have some kind of…cry of some sort? Like a yell?"
"Yes! It's his victory cry. He does it all the time. Of course, I don't like it at all. It keeps us all up and scares everyone in the jungle. Yet some of the members of my group don't mind it. They say it makes them feel safe."
Zexion couldn't help but smile, twitching his tail in satisfaction. "Do you know where I can find this…Gorilla Man?"
"He'll be in the Gorilla Highlands. It's like their nesting ground. It's way up in the trees somewhere. I've never been there though. I've only heard of it."
The Schemer quickly sniffed the air and found he had no problem finding the ultimate scent of gorillas. Without another word to the female lemur, Zexion launched himself vertically onto some branches and took off, following the scent down to the line. He heard Eos yell something, but he didn't catch it. Instead, his mind was completely clouded with ideas that perhaps the secret to the core of the world was within the grasp of the Gorilla Man. That, coupled along with the idea that finding the core would ultimately lead him off the island and back into his human form, the idea of catching the Gorilla Man seemed much more beneficial.
The trail was very strong for a good while until Zexion picked up another scent crossing and weaving the other trail. It smelled more…human. His tail flicked in satisfaction. "Good, I believe I've found the Gorilla Man," he snorted, following the human trail with much more fervor than he had before. In time, his feet began moving faster until he was doing a full sprint through the trees, his body in perfect lining with the trail.
However, he failed to notice two acidic yellow eyes keeping up behind him with painful closeness. Even the strange scent eluded him. He continued on his wild chase, panting and breathing in the mixing scents. With his nose to the trail, he barely had time to register the loud snarling growl behind him or the unmistakable movement of a pounce. Zexion turned just in time to see the yellow eyes flash and long canines bared as ebony-black claws extended towards him. There was no time to react until a screaming, trilling battle cry echoed through the forest.
A.N.: Yus, cliffhanger! Hopefully the next chapter will come waywayway sooner than this one did. DX Cross yer fingers and pray that I get a writing jolt!