Heart of Stone [Lexaeus, Zexion]

[Axel]

Running Out of Steam
--------

He heard the booming slam of Skysplitter into the ground, and Axel got visions of another shockwave heading straight toward him. As quickly as he could, he pushed himself up, his fingers still tight around Eternal Flames. Stubborn determination didn't die easily with him. And if this wasn't a staged event, this was still exactly what he would be doing.

No shockwaves, just flying rocks on fire. This, he could deal with a little easier. He didn't move and instead brought his chakrams to bear on the few rocks that actually looked like they might hit him. Swinging with everything he had left, he smacked the rocks back in Lexaeus' direction.

The circle of flames disappeared then, leaving him completely exposed. There was nothing else he could do for the time being except await more pain until Zexion decided it was convincing enough.

[Prythian]

Lexaeus was caught by surprise; he hadn't thought Axel would have the physical strength necessary to hit the rocks back at this point in the fight. As such, the rocks caught him directly in the face, sending him flinching and stepping a few steps back, one arm going up. He growled, lowering his arm. "...Foolish." That was all he said before he turned and ran, heading for the rock wall he'd already hit.

Likely he'd feel Axel's chakram impacting his back, but anything that came his way he would endure until reaching his goal... and he would swing his weapon to gouge out another chunk of the wall, making it too unstable to remain whole. The wall would begin to collapse, a rock slide starting, and Lexaeus would defend himself against it by smashing the rocks that threatened to fall on him.

This would all happen only if he reached the wall, of course.

[Fate]

Never Doing This Again

More shockwaves and more flames. The two elements together were quite intense, so much so that Zexion was making sure he was a good distance away from the fight. Rocks and chakrams were being thrown, which was not something he wanted to be in the middle of. Though, he didn't seem to be the only one watching this fight; Luxord was here as well, which was a bit odd of him. Why would Luxord want to pay attention to this battle? He didn't seem to care much for the other happenings in the Organization, so why care about this one?

Either way, this was even more difficult for him now. He needed to keep himself hidden from all three of them now and not get hurt. Oh yes, this was going to be enjoyable. He was never going to schedule something like this ever again, not when these two powerful fighters were involved with each other. Luckily, that would not be happening anytime soon. After Lexaeus left and Axel was supposedly dead, the Flame would have to lay low for a while and make sure not to be seen by any other members until it was time for the coup to be enacted.

However, now was the time to get himself out of the way of Lexaeus's next attack. He was heading straight toward a wall with his Skysplitter, which could only mean one thing: he was going to create a rock slide from that. Those rocks wouldn't exactly go in an organized direction either; they would go all over the place. He needed to get to higher ground and fast. The flames had thankfully dissipated though, making it easier. Still, he'd have run through the middle of the fighting area.

He did exactly that, being extra careful to make his steps silent. If either Lexaeus or Luxord noticed he was there, everything would fall apart. He went to the other side where the path to the castle began, going up a little ways to make sure he was out of the path the rock slide was surely going to take. After this, it would possibly be time for Axel to fade. He'd have to watch carefully though, very carefully.

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[Axel]

Well, I'm Done
--------

Lexaeus went straight for that opposite wall when the flames vanished. It was already crumbling a little from the previous impacts of Skysplitter, and Axel knew exactly what was coming. One more giant hit from the weapon smashed the wall into pieces of rock that tumbled down toward the ground with a vengeance. The Silent Hero was faring well enough, fending off any rocks that came for him with the Skysplitter.

Axel was not so lucky.

Having limited strength left as it were, he made a half-hearted attempt to dodge the forerunner rocks in this slide, but once one finally hit him, he went down beneath the rubble. Not only was the weight of the rock excruciatingly painful, but he was also finding it difficult to keep breathing. He tried to push against the rocks once before resigning himself to lying still.

I swear, Zexion, if you don't think this is enough, I will hunt down your invisible, one-eyed self and murder you where you stand.

[Fate]

This Act is Over

The rockslide began shortly after Zexion had made his way over to the other side. Lexaeus fended off well against his own rockslide, as expected, but Axel was less fortunate. The Schemer was also not lucky, even in his current position. A few stray rocks went his way and made contact. He fell over just from the sheer force of them, one or two staying on top of him. Well, his moving over to this side was extremely helpful. His little bracer ability did not help much either due to Lexaeus's strength. It took another dose of willpower to not yell out or anything, staying completely silent. Besides, this was over now.

Axel had been mostly buried under the rocks, but Zexion could still make it obvious that the battle was done; part of him was still visible enough anyhow, which would be enough for Lexaeus. Without moving the rocks on top of him, the illusionist started the fading process. Axel would soon see black wisps of smoke come out of him, though of course they weren't real. They would go above the pile of rocks for a minute, lingering, before at last stopping all together. The job was complete after that. The Flame was no more... and invisible. That part was important.

Now all that needed to happen was for Lexaeus and Luxord to leave. Once they both left, Zexion couldn't stay around for too long and had to rush himself back so Lexaeus could report to him. He had made it clear that he wanted to hear of Axel's death personally, which would make sense if this were not a staged performance. He just needed to make sure that he could get out from under these rocks, which wouldn't be too difficult. Though, it would be for Axel since he had actually been putting effort into a battle. He supposed he would help the Flame as quickly as possible before leaving; he did need him after all.

"You may leave anytime now..." Zexion thought to himself. Rocks were heavy; he wouldn't be doing this again.

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[Nothingness]

Not the Ending I Foresaw

It was over. Luxord had managed to avoid the majority of the carnage caused by the Hero due to his standing on top of a levitating card, but chunks of rock still flew at him. When all the dust settled, he looked for Axel, but only saw some smoke billowing out from the gaps between rocks. If he could have felt, Luxord would have been both immensely frustrated, as well as furious. None of this gave him any answers.

Furrowing his brow, he thought with irritation, "Well, this was a waste of my time. I guess I had better return to base, not that anyone will have noticed. Being under the radar is always nice when you aren't on it." Summoning a corridor, he vanished from the forest, leaving the remnants of Axel's non-existance, and Lexaeus behind.

[Prythian]

Lexaeus looked at Axel's fading with a grim look on his face. He'd been given a duty and carried it out, but taking out someone who was once an ally left an ill taste in his mouth. Marluxia and Larxene had been traitors through and through, and he'd have had no compunction fighting them if necessary, though the plan was to use Riku for that instead. But Axel...

...it didn't matter now. He had fought against the Organization and lost his nonexistent life for it. That was what mattered.

Zexion would want to hear confirmation of Axel's fading. The Hero opened a portal and vanished through it.

[Axel]

Death, Twice Cheated
--------

The familiar sight of black seeping from his body let him know that Zexion, wherever he was at the moment, did indeed think that was enough to be convincing. There was a strange sense of almost-nostalgia. Axel was dying again... only not truly. Despite the pain, the edges of his vision were not steadily growing darker. No yawning abyss rose to consume his consciousness. He was still alive and still lodged beneath rocks.

His "fading" finished, and Lexaeus exited the scene through a Corridor. Until the portal closed completely, Axel held his breath, unsure of just how good this illusion of the Schemer's was. When he finally released it, immense pain shot through his chest and spread through every limb.

He couldn't stay here. The longer he bore this weight, the more he thought he really might fade. There had been no rock slides included in the plans, but he would have to work around that. Gathering as much strength as he could, he pushed against the rocks that pinned him to the ground. The pain was intense, but he shunted it aside until he finally broke through, fresh air flowing into his lungs.

He tumbled out of the pile of rocks into a disheveled heap on the ground. Breath came in ragged gasps. He let his chakrams vanish and simply laid there, inhaling sweet, violence-free air.

"Zexion!"

It hurt to yell, but this needed to be said to the invisible Schemer. Axel wasn't in the mood to see that face right now. Besides, Lexaeus would be heading back to the Castle, and Zexion would need to be there when he arrived. Struggling to his feet, he summoned a Corridor. The last thing he wanted was to stay here any longer.

"You... owe me... Xemnas! Got it... memorized?" Considerable venom laced the final word of his catchphrase. He stumbled into the darkness, leaving Zexion alone.

[Fate]

Back to Work

Finally, both Lexaeus and Luxord were gone. Right after they disappeared, Axel seemed to have something to say and got himself out from under the rocks. If the Schemer had a heart, he might have been afraid of that tone of voice the Flame had. He had put his life at risk just for this plan to work and would be extremely furious if Zexion didn't give him Xemnas. It was obvious what would happen if Axel wasn't given the Superior; there would be no more number six. Ever.

Once Axel chose to leave, Zexion dropped the illusion. He had a few burn marks on him that would need some time to heal and hair was slightly singed. He probably also had a bruise or two from these large rocks. With difficulty, he pushed the rocks off of him and stood up, getting his breath back. He needed to get back to the castle straightaway so Lexaeus would never know that he was gone, that he had even been watching this fight. After the report had been given and the Hero back to his normal duties, the Schemer would need to focus on delivering Xemnas to Axel as quickly as possible.

He'd have to see what would happen tomorrow. There was a new member that had to be initiated tomorrow which he would have to take care of. Maybe, just maybe, the Superior would show up at that and then Zexion could start ending his charade. Though, it wasn't likely. The Superior had been busy doing other things and had let the Organization do as it pleased. He was making himself inaccessible by doing so of course, but if he showed up tomorrow, Zexion could start this.

He did value his own life above anyone else's, after all.

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