The white room was almost deathly quiet. Only moments before a rhythmic ticking had reverberated off the sterile walls, but the clock had since gone silent, a chakram wedged in its face, nearly cleaving it in two. Sighing, the Flurry twirled the weapon's twin in his fingers, silently wishing he had not destroyed his only means of knowing just how long he'd been stuck watching the unconscious new member. His eyes moved over the boy's form, something he'd done countless times in the 3, or more, hours he'd been confined with the new recruit, studying the near lifeless body to pass the time. The chest that rose and fell with slow breaths, the face relaxed in peaceful slumber, the hand with fingers dangling over the edge of the metal table. iWait, that's not right./i

Curious, Axel rose from his chair and approached the table, eyes fixed on the 2 digits which had made their way to the table's edge, the other 3 still resting on the table's surface. But the boy hadn't stirred. The Flurry chuckled, shaking his head. "All the iexcitement/i must be getting to me…" He slipped back into his seat, pulling his hood low over his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

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A blood curdling scream ripped through the air, piercing through the Flurry's sleep and yanking him abruptly back into the waking world. He jumped to his feet, yanking the hood from his head, eye falling upon the formerly sleeping boy.

The once still blond was thrashing about violently on the table, a look of pure panic on his face. His arms jerked against the restraints as he tried to free himself, but the movement escalated until he was throwing his entire body against them. Vivid teal eyes darted to each restraint and around the room, desperately searching for a way to escape.

iWell, I'd say that's distressed./i "Woah! Calm down, kid! You're alright."

At the sound of Axel's voice, the boy snapped his head to the side, meeting the Flurry's gaze and immediately pulling away, attempting to put as much space between himself and the other as the restraints would allow. Despite the struggle, Demyx's eyes stayed locked on the red-head, impossibly wide with terror. "W-who the hell are you!? What are you doing to me!?"

Holding his hands up, the Flurry tried to show the boy that he was not a threat. "Hey! Take it easy! I'm not gonna hurt you, I swear." Despite his attempts to quell the boy's worries, the blond flinched, yanking at the restraints, desperate to get free. Axel shook his head, crimson spikes swaying with the motion, only interrupted by the presence of his hand as he brought it up to scratch the hairs at the back, his eyes drifting away from the blond. "I mean, hell, it's not like I'm the one who tied you down to this table anyway…"

The redhead words had little effect, as Demyx continued to struggle as his eyes darted around the strange room. "Where-…where the hell am I?!" His eyes were wide as they fixed on Axel. "G-get away from me!"

"Whoa, kid…" The flurry stepped back, hands up in front of him once more. "Just relax, alright?" Taking a deep breath, Axel allowed his eyes to sweep the sterile room, lingering a moment on the door before returning to the captive blond. "You're in the world that never was, strange as that may sound. From what I understand, you were pretty hurt when Lexy found you, and he brought you back so Vex could fix you up…" He took note of the confusion mixing with terror on the boy's face and he sighed. "Sorry, I know this isn't making any sense, but trust me, you are much better of here that you were out there."

Teal eyes were wide in terror, Demyx just stared at the other man, though for a moment the struggling had lessened. "I don't even know where here is! Or who you people are!" He threw his weight upward, making another attempt at freedom, eyes squeezed shut. "I want to go home!"

Axel took another step back, making himself comfortable against the counter. "I hate to tell you this, kid, but….if you ended up here, you don't have a home anymore." Scuffing his boot against the marble floor, he kept his eyes on the floor. "None of us do…but hey..." He raised his eyes to Demyx again before looking up at the ceiling. "This isn't a bad place, really…you get used to it."

As much as Axel wanted to believe that he was making the blond feel at ease, the sudden cringe told him otherwise. "I don't even know what you're talking about! Who are you?!" The boy rolled his hips to the side, pulling against the restraints, until his shoulder began to bend at an awkward angle, a loud yelp escaping his lips. He settled back, whimpering from pain and fear, his eyes trained on the redhead. "Just let me go…"

Smiling a bit in spite of the bizarre situation, the flurry gave the boy a mock salute. "Name's Axel." His eyes slipped away from the boy as he spoke, gaze wandering over the blank walls. "Also known as the Flurry of Dancing Flames, or Number 8, to those arrogant enough to bring that up. Lowest ranking member in this little organization here…" The pained whine drew his attention back to the struggling blond, a look of concern passing over the pyro's face. "Hey, be careful! You're already pretty beat up…don't go hurting yourself more."

The squirming body sunk back onto the table, though Axel had a sneaking suspicion that his surrender was from exhaustion rather than his comforting words. The blonde's terrified gaze met the Flurry's, tugging endlessly at the restraints. "Who…who are you people? What do you want from me?"

"Want from you?" A knowing smirk crossed the redhead's face. "Trust me. There's nothing you could give these guys that is of any use to them. We just look out for our own kind." Axel took a step closer, examining the boy's battered body. "And judging by the cuts and bruises, you were in a bad way when Lexy found you…you've been unconscious for hours."

Demyx leaned back, shrinking away from the other man, but his struggling slowed, the situation looking increasingly hopeless. "What do you mean?" Confused and terrified, the blond tried to remember anything before waking up on the cold table. Surprising he could recall nothing. "W-what happened to me?"

A sigh escaped the pyro's lips and he looked away, hand resting against the edge of the table. "Right now…you wouldn't believe me if I told you." His eyes met the boy's, his gaze softening. "I promise I'll tell you everything I know, soon…" There was a pause as Axel contemplated just what he could say to sate the boy's need for answers, without scaring Demyx any further. "…you were attacked, that much I know for sure. The rest…would take a while to explain…" Green eyes moved up the boy's body, fixing on the restraints holding the blond down. "…and I can't imagine that you're very comfortable right now…"

Looking away, Demyx pulled at the restraints, a weight settling in the pit of his stomach. "I want to go home." The fear was leaving him, giving way to despair. He was trapped and utterly helpless. "I don't understand what's happening…"

The hopelessness in the boy's words made Axel uncomfortable and he turned his gaze toward the ceiling. "Yeah, I remember that feeling…but trust me…you don't want to go home…that is, if there is even anything to go home to." He looked back at the blond, concern mingling with curiosity. "Do you even know who you are?"

The boy's mouth opened, but the words never left his lips, leaving him gaping and blinking blankly up at the redhead. His mind was blank; he had no memory of his name, his home, or anything about his life before that moment. "I…I can't remember."

"Huh...I guess it was worse for you…" Axel shrugged off the boy's response. "It's probably better that way…Lexy said to call you iDemyx/i." Moving slowly around the table, the redhead stood at the end near the boy's feet. "Soo…you promise not to run away?"

Craning his neck, Demyx lifted his head off the table, trying to keep his eyes on the Flurry. "Demyx? That's…my name?" He laid his head back, too tired to even consider running away; too confused and worried about his missing memories to think of escape anymore. "I…okay…"

A smile spread across the pyro's face as he looked down at the boy's ankles. "Didn't think so." Axel started fiddling with restraints, releasing the blonde's left leg before moving on to his right. "It's your name now…and once you get settled in we'll see if we can't dig up some information on your past, alright?" The restraint on the other leg released, and the Flurry moved to the other side, working on freeing Demyx's hands, mumbling quietly as he worked. "I don't know what they thought you were gonna do…Xem is so friggin paranoid." Making short work of the straps on the blonde's wrists, Axel held out a hand to help him up. "Seriously, you don't look like you'd wanna hurt anyone…or even try to for that matter.." The redhead remembered Lexaeus's words and tried to think of what would cheer the boy up. "Hey, ki-…Demyx. You hungry?"

Finally free, Demyx huddled away on the table, feeling lost and confused. His eyes followed the redhead cautiously, still wary of the man, though grateful to him for letting him up. "I…I guess so…"

His smile widening, Axel raised his hand to make a portal, but stopped as a realization hit him: there was no way that Demyx was ready to see that yet. Lowering his hand he moved toward the door. "Well then, we'll head down toward the kitchen." He pushed the door open, holding it open for the blond. "After you."

The boy hesitated, still unsure of whether or not he could trust the redhead, but the desire to leave the room was stronger than his misgivings about the strange man. He stood, wobbling slightly on unsteady legs, stiff from spending so long on the table. Slowly he began to approach the door, wary of the other as he drew close.

Realizing that the boy was still pretty scared, Axel smirked. "Hey, I'll tell you what…" He approached the wall, yanking the chakram out, causing the clock to clatter to the floor. Turning, he placed the weapon on the table and pushed it across until it was within Demyx's reach. "Why don't you hold on to this…that way, if you feel threatened, you can defend yourself." The Flurry gave the blond a quick wink as he walked past him, lips spread in an amused smile. "Just don't use it on me, alright? Xig would never let me live it down…"

Demyx's eyes locked on the chakram, considering his options before reaching out to take it. As his fingers brushed against the metal, he let out a hiss, pulling away his hand in surprise. "Ow! It's hot!" He cradled his hand for a moment, eyes flickering to Axel in surprise.

Looking a little sheepish, Axel scratched at the back of his neck. "Sorry about that…"

Determined to have the weapon, the blond reached out, wrapping his fingers around it, no longer surprised by the temperature. Demyx grabbed the chakram with both hands, holding it close to his chest.

The pyro pushed through the door, holding it open for Demyx to walk through before following him into Vexen's lab, surprised to see that the Academic had yet to return. "Umm…try to ignore the lab…Vexen's a bit of a science geek…"

Demyx's eyes grew wide as he took in his surroundings, clutching the chakram tighter as he followed the redhead toward the exit.