The Silent Goliath

"I am Lexaeus, Number V of Organization XIII. Was there more than you needed to know?" Lexaeus, the Silent Hero (静かなる豪傑 Shizuka-naru Gōketsu?), is the Nobody of Aeleus and is Rank V within Organization XIII. He wields control over earth and uses his massive Skysplitter Axe Sword to create earthquakes and brutally slam opponents. Lexaeus appears in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories during Riku's storyline, working with Zexion and Vexen to try and manipulate Riku into serving them. In contrast to his fighting style and physique, he is a disciplined schemer who often tries to keep people such as Vexen in line. ((This is the independent rp blog for Lexaeus. I typically tend to write in multi-para/novella style. I would be happy to rp with you. Please contact me if you are interested. I do not discriminate against any fandom.))

[xaldinini]

‘I need you here.’

The words rang in his head as he stared at Aeleus. Was it really something that his brother would be so willing to admit so easily like that? If it was something that he needed to hear, yes. Aeleus wouldn’t lie to him without reason. 

But this was his brother he was talking about here. This was the man who had his back no matter what happened. The guard he had trained with for years together, they knew how the other fought. The one who they could exchange a glance and know what the other was thinking. Or at least they used to. They hardly exchanged words nowadays it seemed. After nearly a decade of missions and emotionless brainwashing it was more of a miracle the two were so close once again.

Dilan stared back into those bright blue eyes. They were like the sky on a cloudless day. So clear. Aeleus had no trouble knowing where he stood or what would happen. That was one of his better qualities. He could see where the line should be drawn and then choose a side. It was so simple for him. And it should be simple for the lancer and yet….

“He needs me too,” he said softly. Dilan’s mouth felt dry and his arm ached as the pain slowly returned from the potion’s healing magic. He swallowed and turned his gaze away. He couldn’t look him knowing he would break if he did. But from what? Knowing he was abandoning the position he was sworn into all those years ago? He was going through the trouble of trying to put this town and castle back together, it must mean something to him. 

This world was important to him. He wanted to see it whole and complete once again. Maybe that is what he wanted more than anything. But it wouldn’t be enough. Something was missing. He couldn’t rest until he knew what it was.

“I… I will be here for the battle.” Slowly he turned his gaze back to his brother-in-arms. He picked his words carefully, no matter what he said Aeleus would still think on them for hours on end. “But once it is done, whatever the outcome, I shall be gone.” To Kingdom Hearts or another World or somewhere in between, he didn’t know yet. But he couldn’t call Radiant Garden home forever.

[silentgoliath-blog]

Was it unclear to him? Aeleus wondered, looking on rather helplessly as Dilan's eyes clouded heavily with thought.  Had he somehow misspoken?  No, he couldn't have possibly been any more plain with him and yet, the decision seemed to weigh on his fellow guard.

Eons of conditioning, he supposed.  The years of anger over a misunderstanding, the blood of battles which they had never wished to fight, the weightless, guiltless title of 'strongest of the Organization' which they had passed back and forth heedlessly, only to discover the repercussions of their actions once their hearts returned and the bloodbath became all too real.  Neither had cared for it.  Neither had cared for one another.  To be entirely truthful, they had been enemies at that time, as much as an emotionless monster of destruction can be.  Xaldin had been part of the group that had ensured their first downfall, Lexaeus had been sure of it.

What he hadn't quite realized at that time was that all of them had ensured their downfall.  They dug their own graves without even realizing it.

When Even's hunger for knowledge drove him past morality, when Ienzo's overwhelming imagination became a greedy grab for power, when the mischievous glint in Braig's eye became something much more malicious and sadistic.  When had the darkness set in for Dilan and Aeleus then?  Had Dilan been consumed when Braig swayed him into seeing his own isolation, his quiet and bitter despair? And Aeleus's sin still evaded his memory, no matter how he tried.  What had he done wrong?  Was he doing it again now?  Was this what drove Dilan away in the first place?

He was not foolish enough to ask the meaning behind Dilan's words.  For the first time in a while, he was not simply silent, he was struck dumb.  The questions that should have been plaguing him, demanding answers were terrifyingly silent while in the darkness of his mind, he could hear it, feel it rattling within his bones like a calling: traitor, weak, destroy.  It thrummed like a heartbeat, so subtle, so gut-wrenchingly natural he wanted to scream.

“I want to save him.  We’re the last hope he has-” Aeleus began to explain, but he forced himself to stop.  He recognized a futile effort when he heard one.  The guardian looked away, not because he could no longer stand to gaze at Dilan, but that he could not keep his mind from traveling to dark places as the situation's despair.  "Lets get you healed." He said after a moment, shaking his head as though warding away the thoughts, offering his hand to assist once again.  

[xaldinini]

He would have winced at his argument, but he had heard it so many times. Voices echoed in the empty halls of the castle. Not to mention he had walked by some of their talks on the occasion.

He would have denied it as well. He had been. For days, months, years…. Thinking that his fellow guard was just going through a change because of the Darkness that was within their experiments. But oh how wrong he had been. They had all been wrong. It had been over a decade since they had seen their friend Braig and they hadn’t even known it. Aeleus was still in denial about this.

In denial about everything. It didn’t matter what he thought or wanted, it wasn’t going to change the truth.

They stared at each other as his words hung in the air. “You’ll have to kill me.” The larger guard had fit the pieces together and could probably see right through him. Xigbar’s escape, Dilan growing distant, the meeting with them here alone at night…. Dilan would have been more surprised if he didn’t figure it out. The man was short of genius. And yet…

“You think it’s that simple.” He ignored the goliath’s attempts to help him. He pushed himself up slowly, using his left hand to support himself over his right. Before he could stand up straight, he struggled to fight off the blood rushing to his head. Taking a moment, he blinked himself into focus again. He took another moment to stretch out his arm again, feeling the muscles pull and tug at the freshly bonded tendons. The dried blood on his arm cracked as he moved and carefully twisted his arm, testing it again.

“The only reason I remain here is because I have no where else to go.“ He dusted off his uniform as best as he could. Rips and tears along the dark blue fabric would have been a simple fix if it wasn’t for the blood and caked on dirt that now rested within the fibers. “You, Even, and Ienzo… you all have each other. Don’t deny it. Whatever it is, it happened when you were at the other castle. With the new hired hands this place doesn’t need another magic-less guard. Within time I’ll be of no use to this place.” He turned to head back to the castle, pausing for a moment to stare at the broken gate that Aeleus had barged through. “I have no means of traveling outside of this city limits. No defenses nor any clue how the Darkness affected the rest of this world.”

Glancing back at the other guard, Dilan stared at him with half-lidded eyes. He swayed ever-so-slightly where he stood, his body weak from the ordeal of simply standing. “No one here really needs me. So why bother staying?”

[silentgoliath-blog]

He watched the man stand on his own and had a strange sense of foreboding, something cold and icy which seemed all to often to settle in his stomach these days.  When the light in Even’s eyes seemed to shine with something just a bit too overwhelmingly obsessed, or when the shadows on Ienzo’s face obscured his intentions into something unreadable.  He felt the memories of Vexen and Zexion, lingering just around the corners of their clinical words.  He knew Even fought it.  He trusted Ienzo was doing the same...

But why had Aeleus never stopped to think of Dilan? Dilan, whose entire world had been turned upside down just as much as theirs had, was in just as precarious of a state if not more so.  He had noticed him roaming the hallways of the castle at night, the shadowy circles which seemed to have permanently developed beneath his eyes, the odd sense of ennui in which he shaped his words.  He was looking for something and not finding it, Aeleus had thought at the time.  Frankly, he was happy enough to let that fact rest where it was.  He had his brother back, what more could he ask for?  Not everything can be perfect after all.  They had a war to fight.

But it was Dilan’s words themselves that surprised Aeleus.  He straightened up once again, feeling his own muscles protest at the sudden movements after the exertion in the previous fight.  His head was throbbing from the effort it had taken to keep Lexaeus at bay, and the blood on the torso of his jacket was nothing compared to the shallow wounds and bruises he would find on his chest and abdomen later.  His pain was momentarily forgotten though.  Dilan swayed on spot, just as his ideals swayed with him.

Aeleus shook his head slowly, running his gloved hand through his hair and withdrawing it to find it slightly sticky with blood. Had he been hit in the head...?   Were his wounds so bad that he really had to question it? “You and I both know you’re needed here.” He responded as though the point were glaringly obvious, like the fact that Even was an anal-retentative perfectionist, or the fact that they both currently looked like hell.

“Children with knives cannot replace a battle-hardened guardian who knows his enemy.  I don’t care what magic you lost, you’re the best fighter I know regardless.” Aeleus continued in all truthfulness.  He swallowed, his throat feeling dry as sandpaper despite the taste of copper.  He didn’t enjoy speaking on a good day, less so when it had to do with his own feelings, his past. “Oblivion was only good for revealing our true darkness,” He paused, the words sticking uncomfortably in his throat with the bitterness, the bloodiness of the memory until he forced them forward, “and finally tearing us apart. Vexen played God to a creation he couldn’t abandon fast enough once it failed him.  I attacked a child, Dilan.  I thought I could stoop no lower.  Who even knows what Zexion resorted to after that.  We were monsters, in the cruelest sense.”

He paused once again, as though the feelings swelling within him, settling uncomfortably in his mind.  He had to speak, but words felt prickly, horribly inadequate to him, and he simply felt like a fool saying them, but there was the remarkable risk that Dilan would now end up exactly like his other brother, his lost friend who he refused to turn away from.  Braig could be saved.  He must be saved.  There was no other way for Aeleus to live on with his ideals without Braig being reunited with them.  But, were they really and truly safe and sound after all?  

“I can’t force you to stay.” Aeleus said softly, and suddenly, the weight of looking his brother in the eye was far too much for him, the threat that he could turn and walk away for the last time seemed all too real, that the next time he would see his brother would be on the other side of a battlefield, on the other end of a pointed lance. “And if it isn’t yet clear to you exactly how needed your help is here on the side of light, then I can’t possibly convince you of how valuable you are. But, you’re one of the only ones I have left to trust, Dilan.  I need you here.” He took a moment to breath, hardly noticing how labored his breathing was now becoming.  

“Please, brother.”

He finally found the courage to look up once again, locking eyes with the fellow guardian, pleading with him.  It became all to clear exactly who Dlian was abandoning if he walked away.

[xaldinini]

Never wanted the power in the first place? And yet he still kept it. And the one who wanted the power lost it.

The irony was enough to make him laugh. A small chuckle passed under his breath as the last of the potion fell down his throat. The aches and pains dulled into a muted throbbing that he could ignore as sore muscles and bruises started to fade before they could start hurting. Anything small the first potion couldn’t focus on was fixed in that instant.

He couldn’t avoid Aeleus’ questions forever.

No about the other was holding his tongue from voicing others. He knew him all too well to know when he was holding back. There was a little wrinkle in his brow when he wanted to say something but knew better than to speak out of line. Dilan stared at that little wrinkle on his otherwise stoic face.

Taking a deep breath, he turned his gaze away and focused on the crumbling wall. “That’s not Braig,” he said, his voice quiet. “I don’t think he’s been Braig for a long time…”

Hearts, it hurt to admit. Saying the words out loud made it all seem real. And yet he still didn’t want to believe them. He felt his heart tug painfully knowing it was true, Xigbar was Xigbar. Braig was hardly there anymore. No matter what Dilan did, he wouldn’t be able to bring him back. That was the truth he wanted to avoid. And yet he couldn’t say that part, saying it would only make it all the more real. His heart couldn’t take it.

“Xigbar had… proposed an offer to me. I was supposed to give him an answer.” His mouth hung open for a moment longer, the words seeming to die on his lips as he tried to voice them. Realizing they wouldn’t come, he pursed his lips and swallowed. His arm throbbed in pain as the healing effects of the potion worked on it. It would still be sore for days to come knowing how this new body wanted to handle pain.

Swallowing, he tried to find the right words but nothing came. Dilan slowly turned his gaze back to Aeleus, his eyes dull and tired from the last hour’s worth of events. “Why did you come here?”

[silentgoliath-blog]

Maybe it was something about the aftershock of that battle, or maybe it was the lingering darkness that refused to recede completely from his consciousness.  Or really, maybe it was really just his own exhaustion, but something about his mind refused to comprehend entirely what was being said.

Because it was far more than just the words that were worrying Aeleus now.  The frustration in Dilan's voice was something he was not entirely familiar with. The bitterness that lingered spoke volumes more than the lancer's answer ever could.  That laugh haunted his mind, reminding him of times past that were far less than pleasant, when the rift between them had been gaping, when they had been viscous enemies for reasons that now he could neither comprehend nor care to try.  Dilan's bitter chuckle was not his own, it was Xaldin's.

He was jealous that Aeleus' darkness lingered.  He was jealous.

"He's Braig!  He isn't Xigbar!" Aeleus' shouted before he even realized he even realized he had raised his voice. Perhaps hours of making this argument to both Even and Ienzo, and being met with the same set of delicately arched eyebrows and deeply seeded suspicion was wearing thin on even the puzzler's patience, but he was not prepared to hear Dilan throwing his beliefs back in his face.  He had thought that they were of the same mind, but regardless, he quickly shook his head to correct himself.  "My apologies. I won't abandon him to that monster." Whether or not Aeleus was referring to Xigbar or to Xehanort was unclear, but in the end, he really blamed the entirety of the darkness, so either was plausible.

But as Dilan's words came, Aeleus already knew it in his heart, his very being the answer he was about to get, yet somehow his abused mind refused to hear it.  He repeated it to himself again and again until it finally sunk in Xigbar wanted to offer him something.  Wanted to offer him something.  Offer him something. He was about to lose his other brother.  He knew it.  He didn't need extra words.  He didn't need unnecessary proclamations or ridiculous monologues to see this as clearly as day.  Perhaps he knew it when he saw them up on the wall together.  Perhaps he knew it when he saw the betrayal on Dilan's face at seeing the fellow guard come in to save him.  He could only think of one response. 

"You'll have to kill me." 

He let the words hang.  Dilan knew of Aeleus's vow to never let them fall pray to darkness again while he had the strength to fight it, while he still lived.  He knew that Aeleus would fight onward to prevent Dilan from losing his heart, and if the day were to come, to try to bring him back to being complete once again. He would never sit by and let Dilan be lost.  He would never again let those he loved be ravaged and forced into submission.

But the harshness of the statement was softened by the outstretched hand of the guard. "But perhaps another day.  Now, we need to get you back to the castle and healed." He moved to help Dilan from the ground if the other guard would allow him, to support his steps back to their main quarters.

[xsemblance-blog]

Lexaeus quirked a brow at the young prodigy. Flustered and embarrassed? He didn't quite know the logic behind it, but if this was just some playful game, he wasn't about to be entirely forgotten. "You're quite beautiful, you know." He admitted softly and naturally, as though the matter were as simple as talking about the weather over tea.

Prompt.

      Zexion took at least twenty seconds to register what Lexaeus said. After those twenty seconds passed, blue eyes stared up at the man in disbelief. What… had prompted that of all things? Why did… how… it made little sense. The Hero had no reason to tell him this, and he said it casually, as if they were having a simple conversation over a meal.

      The Schemer looked down, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. “… Thank you, Lexaeus,” he mumbled, “As are you.” Realizing what he said aloud, he covered his mouth, and began walking away. Today was simply not his day.

[silentgoliath-blog]

Lexaeus didn’t really get flustered, truth be told.  What he said to Zexion, he said out of sincerity.  He wasn’t expecting gratitude or compliments or even acknowledgement (which really made his partnership of sorts with Zexion all the easier when the young bookworm happened to be in one of his ‘moods’), but Zexion’s deep blush caught him off guard. He looked (dare he admit it) adorable.

His words elicited a soft chuckle, nothing like the huge laughter one might expect from a man his size and yet somehow it seemed to suit him just as well as the gentle smile he sported. “No, I’m not.” He continued, thinking he was anything akin to ‘beautiful’ was so ridiculous it was next to hilarious.  “But you are.”

[xaldinini]

Begrudgingly he took the potions. As much as he appreciated the guard being there to help him, even if he wasn’t supposed to be there at all. His stubbornness wanted him to nurse his own wounds, take the (annoyingly long) time to heal on their own accord without magic. But the thought of going without use of his right arm for a while was much more aggravating than dealing with a hurt pride.

Finally getting a chance to think, Dilan thought back. How did Aeleus get here? He was certain he hadn’t been followed. Made sure that he left no tracks, no hint that he had even left. If he had agreed to Xigbar’s terms then it wouldn’t have been till morning that someone would have noticed he was gone. But here the other guard stood.

Setting one bottle down, he uncorked the other with his teeth. Tipping the jar back, the bright green liquid slid from the bottle down his throat. Even’s concoction was thicker than the usual bottled magic. He could feel the heavy liquid slide down and work on his limb. Something snapped back into place making him groan as bones realigned and smaller cuts and bruises faded away. The cut on his cheek sealed itself up, the only reminder it had been there was the dried blood on his face. 

The question made him grimace. He hoped the pain of having his arm being stitched up would cover for him. He opened up the second bottle with his teeth in hopes of stalling for more time. He could feel the remains of the first potion growing to a close as his arm seemed to pulse with the healing magic.

“You tell me,” he said spitting the cork onto the floor. “How can you still summon Skysplitter?”

He lifted his eyes accusingly at him. Purple irises staring up at his comrade’s bloodied side then to his face. A Keyblade shouldn’t hurt a human as much as any other being. And yet there the evidence stood. If he was going to spill some dark secret, Aeleus would have to as well.

[silentgoliath-blog]

A younger Aeleus would have probably thought that the question was very genuine comment, and considering that the situation rendered itentirely valid, Dilan had every right to ask, after all.  That battle that he had just been a part of, had entirely witnessed would have been in the forefront of his mind.  Aside, of course, from the pain that was most likely a prime distraction , but Dilan's mind was too quick for that nonsense, apparently.

Too quick to be caught off guard, as well.

Aeleus felt something within his stomach clench ominously, as though expecting a sudden drop.  This was a ploy.  This was a distraction.  Dilan didn't want to answer him, and perhaps even felt he didn't need to.  He could sense it, that wall being built between them. How hard had he fought to try to rekindle their friendship,  how easily had he forgiven for the past and promised that they would find their lost brother in arms?  Perhaps his words had been poignant at the time, but now, seeing the look in those guarded violet eyes, he couldn't have felt more like a stranger if he tried.

Dilan was glaring at him like he had ruined it, whatever it happened to be. He sighed, resignedly.  The best way to bridge betrayal (whatever it happened to be for) was with sincerity.  "I never lost them." He answered softly, not afraid for once to voice the despair which had been haunting him now since his reawakening. "I never wanted the power to begin with and now it won't leave me." Lexaeus won't leave me, he admitted inwardly with a shudder.  Even now, he felt himself healing, knitting slowly, so slowly back together.  Thank the Gods that the battle was now over, his darkness was receding.

"Now, what about you?" He turned the question back once again.  The lancer was knitting up once again and it would take a great deal more than that to keep Dilan down.   He was more than capable of speech, and apparently, cohesive, cunning thought. "What about Braig?  What's going on?" The questions were rising faster than Aeleus could voice them, nor did he want to until he had the first few answers.

[xaldinini]

Ground shook as Aeleus landed from the blow. Dilan’s head snapped up as he watched the Nobody ready for one final attack and then stop. He was coming to his senses. The horror in his eye spoke volumes.

Xig… He was in there. Dilan had seen it, even it if was just a second before he left. Gold and violet met and the guard could feel his heart constricting within his chest as the tendrils of darkness take him away once more. He wanted to call out – to apologize for it all. Explain that this wasn’t his doing. That he didn’t know the other guard was on his way or that he had even been followed at all.

Then again he hadn’t anticipated needing to fight either.

Possession wasn’t something that had crossed his mind. Maybe the two of them had discussed it in a small conversation but it wasn’t a possibility to the lancer. And now it was. He had seen it, heard it, and felt it with his own body. The hot knife in his heart twisted at the thought of having to see him like that again. To watch his friend be lost completely. Xigbar had been gone in those few moments. There wasn’t anything normal about him. He wouldn’t have gained a Keyblade like that… not on his own.

Dilan’s life was nearly snuffed out because of a mistake. But was coming to meet him the mistake? Or was it even talking to him at all?

“Fine…” he muttered holding onto his arm and sitting back and looking down at it. Carefully he tested out what he could do with it. Fingers clenched and unclenched carefully on command, minor pain when he tried to rotate his wrist, and he couldn’t lift his arm. Probably a dislocated shoulder alongside a few fractured bones if he could guess.

Turning his gaze to the other, he nodded towards his side. Blood oozed from his side and the lancer suspected down his back as well. Maybe he was smart and brought some potions before running out into the unknown looking for him.

A bitter taste formed in the back of his throat when he thought about it. Pushing the bile back, he asked, “What about you?” His tone probably more bitter than he anticipated.

[silentgoliath-blog]

The silence between them was deafening, interrupted only by the shifting of rubble around them as their former arena gradually settled. Aeleus stared down at his bloodied  hands, his mind moving sluggishly as the world around him seemed to be racing all too quickly. He let out a slow sigh as to try to expel the thoughts of death, destruction and how very undeniably he had wanted to cause it not just a few seconds ago. It was, unfortunately, quite useless.  The darkness lingered at the edge of his consciousness, wordlessly reminding him of his own weaknesses and making him fear all the more for the trust which so many seemed to place within him.

Looking over at Dilan once again, he noticed how the man had finally seemed to come to his own senses, wincing as he clenched and unclenched his own fist, testing to see if his broken arm was functional. Broken arm...When had that happened? The thought was shoved away upon seeing his discomfort, despite his words.  He reached around at his own utility belt (standard issue for a former military man), and found the place where he stored all of his healing potions.  It was a minor convenience, which never lent  itself to the heat of the battle, but for times like now within the aftermath, it was ideal.

He withdrew two of them.  One would serve to align the bones and heal the damaged muscles, the other would handle reconnecting any tendons and probably anything more external.  Hefting his form up from the ground once again, he moved over to where Dilan had settled, giving him the two, clear bottles, bright green liquid (Even’s design and magic) all the more vivid through the glass.

At the gesture to his own wounds, his side, the remnants of the 'mind bullets' as Xigbar had referred to them back in their nobody days, he peered down at his own torso. The wound was superficially ugly, and perhaps it was that it looked a great deal worse than it was.  Blood stained his uniform, and undoubtedly, for missing it's mark, it still had done a the most of damage out of all the Freeshooter's other attacks.

Aeleus shook his head, indicating it was of no concern at the present. He would get the proper attention when they returned to the castle.  The guardian didn't want to admit that perhaps the darkness would heal it entirely without aid.  That Lexaeus was strengthening within him was far too daunting a prospect to contend with currently.

Not when there were already so many dark thoughts flying through his mind.  With the battle done, at least for the moment, he now was overwrought with questions that seemed to grow as he realized the grim possibilities of their answers.  Why had Xigbar been here?  Why had Dilan been speaking to him on the north wall?  What could they possibly be discussing? Had they met in secret?  Was this the first time?

Xigbar's escape now seemed all too logical.  Aeleus looked at Dilan as though, unwillingly, seeing him for the first time.  He had known that Even and Ienzo both suspected Xigbar was a lost cause (which the guardian would never agree with), but to add Xaldin to that list as well might just break him.  His stomach clenched with dread, not wanting to speak, knowing that he had to, fearing the answer he would get.

"What's going on?" Something within Aeleus already knew, but with a sickening sense of apprehension, he needed to hear it from his brother.

[xaldinini]

The hair on his face stood on end as the energy from the bullet grazed past his sideburns. Dilan shuddered at the dark energy that flew past him and behind him. Too close for comfort.

His injured arm screamed in warning as he sat up to stare at the two of them. He could see the crazed look in Xigbar’s eye. The Darkness had taken over and Xehanort was in control. One of the few things that Dilan had feared was never being able to actually see his friend again. Just the glimpse of Braig deep within that molten gold was enough to give him some inkling of hope that he really could bring him back.

But he was no more.

Long gone and dead to the world. Dilan had been a fool to believe that he could even try. Maybe he had seen him somewhere during that night a week ago. Their rushed sex left him with more questions about his sanity and well being. And yet he thought he could feel some presence of the other inside of him.

Impossible. Gritting his teeth, Dilan pushed himself to his knees as Aeleus stood to catch the Nobody. He made to pull the larger man back but missed as he moved away from him. Off balanced, he supported himself on his hand as he watched Aeleus raise a gloved fist to the other.

No… they couldn’t take him back there again. Not while Ael knew they had been meeting like this. How could he help him? They would be forced away from each other. Dilan would probably have to go under some sort testing knowing Even and Ienzo. The three of them would question his loyalties and keep him locked up before they could decide what to do with them. He wouldn’t be able to get Xigbar out again. He would fail him one more time.

[freeshooterxig-deactivated-deac]

‘Xehanort enough…’ Xigbar’s mind went blank.

Body stiffened as he watched the brunette vault, white glove out stretched for his throat. A breath escaped him, body lowering and veering to his left as a dark glow formed within his right fist. II wasn’t in control of his own body as his fingers wrapped hard around the hilt of a blade. The strength of a master swordsman countering under and unarmed guard. Even the tone in his voice didn’t seem his own, just the sneer of a deep growl. “Vanish.”

With a bright flash of light the crest of the blade ripped through his side. The wound low on his ribs and hardly deep driven from his blind side. With a blur of gray the man had varnished behind him, half in a crouch, the key extended on a follow through in the slash. Molten gold gaze was vacant, yet hard boiling over in anger.

The Freeshooter stood slowly, half turning the other as he lowered the dark blade at his side. Breath staggered out, as he drew the weapon again, the tang of the blade narrowing out like his arrowguns. ‘Kill him’ he thought, fingers quaking as teeth ripped back into a wicked sneer. It would be fast. Futile. Then he could destroy the other trai-

No final shot came. II exhaled again, gold eye blinking back rage for shock. Grip around the blade loosened, having not used the arm as his draw grip since he lost his right eye. Fingers felt weak, the short tang of the keyblade tilting in his grip as he merely dropped it, desummoning the thing in a mauve flash of ethereal light. Black boots stammered back, something of shock taking to his senses.

The old man had said he would never fully possess.. And yet.. the blood. Had he just..

“Ael.. Din…” the whisper fell in a weak murmur, before his right hand clasped against his temple. His head screamed, lids locking shut. Teeth gritted as the man let out a cruse from his breath. Heal turned as black tendrils swallowed up his feet, a dark corridor ripping open a gaping maw for him to escape into. Without a second word he was gone. He merely shot a glance backwards to the lancer as a look crossed his sight, a feeling twisting like a hot knife in his gutt, as he spirited himself away.

[silentgoliath-blog]

It was a rookie mistake.  Aeleus saw it the second he knew it was too late to withdraw from his attack, but in retrospect, perhaps the oversight was understandable.  He had known the Freeshooter from the time the warrior was just a rambunctious boy, scrambling over every wall, tree, gate, even building he could get his stubby little fingers on.  All of the time though, he had been carrying some sort of duel wielding toy gun from the time he was confidant enough to hold it correctly, or swipe it from the local shop.  His guns were almost as much a part of his trademark as his carefree grin and bitingly sharp wit.

To see him without them was more painful than the blow itself.

  Aeleus went down hard, which really was the only way he could, considering his size.  The wound seared his side, but he knew he had been lucky.   Xigbar desperate strike had missed his vitals, which was no surprise by the incompetent way he was gripping his weapon (his wrist was far too stiff.  An amateur mistake which told far more about the nature of his sanity at the moment than anything else) and the glazed, dead look in his single eye.

Hitting the ground on the opposite side as his newest wound, his body instinctively moved to get him back up again, to rebound, but his mind spun, the burning sensation running through his system with an involuntary shudder.  The darkness clung to the sensation hungrily, feeling momentary weakness and Aeleus sunk down once again, gripping at his temples, willing the destructive desires away.

His vision blurred and focused, showing the dark keyblade by Xigbar's side in vivid brilliance, hungrily  shining with new blood, despite Aeleus's refusal to fully feel the pain through all of adrenaline pumping through his system.

With a pause that Aeleus could only describe as terrifying (for reason he could not entirely pinpoint), Xigbar looked at them both and, for an instant, he was Braig again, eyes sharp but pensive, expression tired, strained and abused. His voice sounded as though it might be echoing from far away.

"Ael...Dil..."

It was all the guardian needed to hear to urge him onward.  Before his body was recovered from the hit, his mind was racing.  That voice, that voice, Aeleus had been right all along.  He had no time to delight in the revelation though.  Darkness was already pulling at his brother and before Aeleus could even manage to form a plan, he was staggering towards him, missing him by seconds and swiping uselessly at empty air as Braig was dragged away. He sank pitifully to his knees with a frustrated groan which made up for the words which he simply could not form in his absolute disappointment.

Braig had been there, right there.  Aeleus had failed to save him again.

He sat in stunned silence, catching his lost breath, forgetting the burning of his wound while staring down at his gloved, yet bloodied hands.  Shaking his head slowly, clenching his eyes shut in an effort to force the darkness away, he turned himself to Dilan finally.  "Dilan," He said, between shaky breaths.  "Are you alright?"

[xaldinini]

Dilan was sure of one thing: his arm was broken. Somewhere along his forearm the bone had shattered during their fall. He could only really blame himself on that one. He should have known that trying to break Aeleus’ tackle would lead to something like this. And to top it all off he had been shot minutes before.

His arm pulsed with pain as he tried to reason between the two of them. It all seemed in vain of course. Just how was he supposed to find an answer to satisfy the both of them? They wanted different things from him. And what of himself?

What did Dilan want? It felt like every time he asked that question he couldn’t bring himself to answer it.

The hair on the back of his neck rose as he sensed the gathering Darkness behind him. Xigbar was there. Xigbar was falling even deeper into the Darkness. He needed to do something, stop him, calm him, reason with him. Anything.

Before he could turn his head or say anything, a hard jerk pulled him forward. The ground came up to meet him as he felt Aeleus’ hand let go of his uniform. Bracing himself with his good arm, Dilan pursed his lips and let out a muffled scream as his injured arm moved again. Bones felt like they grounded against each other as he turn around to look at the other two. Bloodied fingers curled around his arm as he tried to keep it steady and making things worse.

Or maybe he was too late for that. Dark purples and blacks swirled around Xigbar in a terrible aura. It radiated off of him as he pointed single the arrow gun at Aeleus who was still trying to put up a fight. No there was no reasoning with him anymore. He’d lost him again.

Ignoring the heart breaking twist in his chest and the extreme discomfort in his arm, Dilan reached up and pulled at Aeleus’ collar, pulling him down and out of the gun barrel’s range. Kicking up, he felt his foot connect with the gun forcing it up and away from them.

“Get out of here,” he growled, not sure who he was talking to, but if either one of them left he could at least buy himself more time. If he had any more of it that is.

[freeshooterxig-deactivated-deac]

The stone hit the side of his skull, halting in midair for a brief moment. The momentum seemed to drop to zero within the blink of an eye as it hit that blue aura crawling from his skin. Darkness warped, creating almost a force field. Repelling, ripping, stealing away what normal laws applied within the Realm. Manipulation. Lying. Corrupting. It was what he was best at.

Aeleus’s rock hit the ground at his feet a second later. That gold eye seemed unfazed, ignoring the pin prick of a slit crossing his brow above his right eye where the rock had struck. Pupil remained glassed over, locked on the other’s back with a deadly intent. Xehanort’s Heart beating wildly in his chest, lips parted in a calm eerie smirk. Finger curled back on the trigger just as the heel of the guard’s boot connected to the pointed barrel of the arrowgun. Ethereal energy cracked in the air, the gun spitting out a large black spike. It struck the earth behind the former lancer, the bullet coming within inches of his cheek. The arrow cracked, some unholy power emitting from its core before it faded in a dark cloud of smoke. For a moment his vision blacked out completely. The man stumbled to his right with the kick. He let the aura drop, the cloud receading back into his skin.e hadn’t used that trick since he had last fought Sora.. The remainder of his magic and strength waned, as the pain to his left arm seemed to bring him slowly back to the earth. His grip tightened on the gun, desperate not to let it drop from his grip. The last time that had happened and he had spent himself in such a way, he had faded.. II slumped on his feet, his focus coming back to his pupil as the grapple lessened on his body. Chest panted in a quiet labor, his head lifted enough to see the other’s face. Lexaeus. Xaldin.. Their eyes filled with absolute anger and horror. Xigbar’s head lowered letting out a pained chuckle, the scar pulling at his cheek as he almost drew out a sneer. “You can’t stop this. You can’t stop any of this.”

[silentgoliath-blog]

Aeleus had hunted before in the past, as a child.  Sustenance was valued and hard to come by, bitterly won and prized to those skilled enough to achieve it. He had seen all sorts of animals: foxes, deer, rabbits, and yes, even bears. He had even seen the mythic variety, the fae folk from time to time. Right now, looking on at Braig as his chest heaved from the sheer effort of controlling the adrenaline pumping through his body, his hand shaking under the stress of pulling the trigger and his knees swaying from the weight of his own abused body, he was reminded of that sparce time.  No, it wasn't his fighting stance, or the splatters of blood which ran down the shining black of his coat which made Aeleus' hair stand on end.  No, it was that horrifying delight within his eye that made him seem almost entirely lost and (dare he admit it) rabid.

Yes, Braig was a wild man, but Xigbar was a mad, rabid animal.

The gleam within his eyes was entirely inhuman, shining like a warning as the Freeshooter continued to attack until his own limitations, his own darkness simply would not allow for it anymore without destructive consequences.  Something about the look in those eyes seemed all too familiar to Aeleus.  It was the madness which would drive a man to ignore reason, to abandon the friends of his past, to take up blind and overwhelming obsessions, (and in the case of Lexaeus) to go against everything which made you once human. 

The guard felt himself being pulled to safety by his injured comrade.  The horror was settling into his thoughts.  Braig.  This wasn't Braig. How could the boy who had helped him train at proper fighting with sticks from the oak tree in the garden have grown to such inhumanity?  How could this possibly be the man he had once laughed at for being such a lightweight at the local pub? Why was the boy who had been the first to make him laugh after losing his home trying to kill him now? What within Xehanort's words had convinced him that this life was so excruciating that it needed to be completely and entirely burned to dust? Because this certainly was not the same man.  This was one of the most insultingly bad recreations of Braig that Aeleus had ever witnessed and Aeleus was not amused.

Dilan had told them both to go away, as if this were somehow supposed to help. Dilan was confusing him even beyond what Braig was doing.  It was all like some horrible fever dream which the Silent Hero just wanted to end.  Aeleus groaned in frustration, ignoring the ache of his torso and joints as he stood, just in time to catch Xigbar sinking to the ground and spouting nonsense. Again.

"Xehanort, enough." Aeleus growled, cutting him off, voice deadly calm and even for a man who was currently trying to fight off the darkness himself as it teetered on the edge of madness, wanting him not just to kill his opponent, but to eviscerate him.  "I'm taking Braig back. I'm finished with this nonsense." He balled up his fist and lunged to knock his opponent out cold and end this as quickly as possible before Xigbar gained enough energy to take away his friend once again.

[freeshooterxig-deactivated-deac]

xaldinini:

Ground shook as the tomahawk came down on Xigbar. The jarring vibrations sent a fresh wave of stinging pain down his arm but Dilan didn’t care. His main concern was for the man that took the hit.

Loose bullets flew around him without targets as the gun smashed against the floor. Dilan winced as he felt one of the stray bullets graze his cheek. Vaguely he wondered if Xigbar would be able to use the weapon again, probably not. It looked like it had been smashed into far too many pieces to put back together. Then again the man was full of surprises. He stood up then, pushing himself off of his knees and onto his feet. Or at least he was on steady ground for a second before the solid earth trembled when the fallen Skysplitter landed on it. Dilan took a step forward to himself from falling back onto the floor again. This wasn’t a time to be clinging onto it.

The other two were a matter of steps away. Maybe if he could just get in between them they could talk it over or something…. No there really wasn’t anything to talk about was there? Lines have been drawn and now Dilan had to pick which side to stand on it. Xigbar had said he was running out of time. But where did the Lancer stand?

Stay here as a human and see the end of this world as he had before? Attempt to build it up again from the first time they had failed it. Or throw his Heart away again and try to make a better world? What were his chances of surviving on either end? Neither seemed like a possibly future for him, so what did he want to do?

Just as he thought of an answer, Aeleus lunged. Cursing to himself, Dilan threw himself between the two. His side taking most of Aeleus’ weight but still had them crashing into Xigbar behind him. Bodies tumbled and fell, he could feel Xigbar beneath him but he wasn’t sure which part of him. A leg or arm or even his whole body, Dilan wasn’t really aware of it. The mass that was Aeleus was on him, practically crushing him just from the sheer size that he was and his injured arm was pinned under him.

Grunting in pain, he lifted his head to look at Aeleus. “We can’t help him… I’ve tried…” He hissed out a curse as he tried to move his arm. “He doesn’t want to be…”

Human. Weak and powerless. Born just to die in a rotting world. Unable to get the thing they most wanted, even after a life time of searching.. Clawing at eachother’s throats, fighting to get to that light. Or giving it up on it completely out of sentiment of friendship or something like faith.. Because the power was always just out of reach… His gun was knocked nearly from his grip, the two landing on top of him. Bruised side torqued, drawing a hiss from his breath. The mass of muscle fell all the same, the rush and speed of the tackle and intercept causing him to black out and close his eyes. For a moment, he lost all sense of balance. Up was down, down was up, even by his perspective. The world kept spinning, even the earth offered no solidarity in the matter. It was shaking too damn much.. Right now he felt like that most of all.. He drew a deep breath, clouded iris still enraged in hazed fury. Gun no where to be found in his immediate grip, it shifted to the first body within reach. Letting out a gnarled cry, he pushed. Pushed on the weight itself, the given force of the earth making their internal weights drop drastically enough to push them off of his arm.. He could barely feel the limb other than a dull ache. Maybe the shock or darkness was still keeping his senses on a buzz.. He didn’t know. Just every single blink he could manage brought him more to his senses, self preservation biting back at the lingering will to kill the brunette in cold blood.  Fingers curled, blood swelling to the sight of his shoulder. Something felt broken.. A tendon or a collar bone. He didn’t even want to guess. Gold iris hazed, right digits guarding the injury tightly as he cursed out a “Cura.” Something popped back into place, the sound sickening as bones contorted and crunched back to something of their original state. He always had sucked at the other Magic Artz however. Even with a tier two spell, it was anything but fully healed. He just needed enough of it to fight.. That’s when he had noticed it.. The two bodies locked enough within reach, Dilan’s back facing him, defending him.. Xigbar blinked, his iris quaking in some manner of disbelief. Had he not just taken the shot meant for the other’s skull just moments before? The Freeshooter exhaled, angrily, almost able to taste the scent of darkness on his own breath as his aura hiked up again. ‘Xaldin.. what are you thinking…’ Choosing both sides, or neither.. Either way it looked like his words had fallen on deaf ears.. Wordlessly he stood, stumbling backwards slightly with an uneasy footing. A steady stream of ill favored light started pooling off of his skin, the visible blue aura warping space around him. Left fingers clenched painfully, as he let the Heart slowly take back in control over his body. It was about the only thing he knew he could do to keep the pain from knocking him out. Maybe if Xehanort’s will did decide to fully possess him, then maybe killing the both of them wouldn’t hurt as… Right hand lowered from his shoulder as he resummoned a stand alone Sharpshooter. His arm aimed point blank, not at Aeleus but the back of Dilan’s chest. His vision stared into the distance, finger coiling back on the trigger about to fire. Guess it was going to come down to stealing his Heart anyways…

[silentgoliath-blog]

It was that darkness that got between him and his ideals, his true goals.  It was that undeniable power that was able to rob him of his mental facilities.  But, that being said, it was also this mental power that made it possible for him to even be standing after the crippling amount of damage he had taken thus far.  A lesser man would have been dead from Xigbar’s first attack.  After all of the shooting, the sniping and even the potency of the head on attacks, and the blood which now had stained his uniform, Aeleus could feel that he was not seriously harmed.  He was already healing, nigh indestructible. What a harrowing thought.

Aeleus had been certain that Dilan was here to help.  He didn't have the emotional capacity left at this point, having endured surprise appearances, multiple murder attempts and a barrage of bullets, to even consider the fact that this might have been for naught and that Dilan was going to give up his heart in the end.  It simply could not be true, not at this point, not ever.  His brother needed him. There was no question as to how Aeleus would respond, he would help, without a doubt. But Dilan had other ideas.  The lancer blocked his attack with only mere seconds to spare, plowing into the goliath from the side as Aeleus lunged forward.  It wasn't particularly pain that Aeleus felt from the shove, but more so the panic of losing his balance and knowing the chaos that was about to ensue.

Hypothesis: What happens when three hundred pounds of pure muscle trips and shoves over an entire group of burly men?

Conclusion: Everyone was about to get crushed in some capacity.  That, and Aeleus had been spending too much time around a bunch of scientists.

They tumbled over one another, and the tower was suddenly a blur of stone walls, black cloaks, navy uniforms, and surprised, yelling men.  When they finally came to a stop and the dust settled, Aeleus rolled over and and shoved himself up from the ground to catch his bearings and see exactly who he had crushed and how many bones they had broken (because he was, of course, unscathed).  A look of concern dizziness crossed his face, hoping he hadn’t accidentally killed Braig.

But, Dilan caught his attention first, being right before him. He looked down at the injured lancer, noting the cut on his cheek, as the other man spoke in broken sentences through his pain.  Aeleus reached out to help him.  "That's a damned lie." He groaned, not allowing himself to believe it.  "We're the only ones left who believe in him. We have to be str-", Aeleus cut off his whisper in a stunned silence, watching as Xigbar seemed to rise from the very tendrils of darkness behind them, his single golden eye all but glowing molten.

The gun glinted in the dying sunlight.  It was unmistakable, how uncannily he looked like Xehanort just then, face devoid of emotion, attack set on killing.

There was no time to dwell on this. In a panic, Aeleus grabbed at whatever he could reach of Dilan (the front of his uniform) and yanked him back and out of the way.  He had no idea what to do at this point, weaponless in his refusal to summon the darkness for fear of the harm it might do while he had every intention of defense.  Aeleus's mind blanked completely.   Dilan was depending on him. Braig needed him to succeed.  All the while, the hunger of the darkness was lingering just at his fingertips.

And thus, Aeleus did what any man would do in this situation.  He picked up a rock (a cantaloupe sized chunk of debris) and flung it at Xigbar. He wondered briefly, if they did manage to survive, if he would ever be able to live this moment down.

[silentgoliath-blog]

Not as attractive?  I beg to differ.

[xaldinini]

Somehow he thought that being shot a second time would make things easier. It didn’t. Pain seared through his arm long before he landed on his side. It felt like his nerves were on fire as the dark energy dissolved on impact only to have his fingers go numb from shock.

The ground rushed towards him as he fell onto his left side, protecting his right, the impact sending a shocking wave of pain through him. Another muffled groan as he rolled over, keeping his arm elevated. Blood bubbled up and pooled around his gloved fingers as he applied pressure to it. Dark spots appeared in his vision as the pain rushed over him. Shutting his eyes closed he took in several deep breaths and cleared his head. Hearts it hurt.

More gunshots as Xigbar unloaded a round near by. He had moved from his spot above them, risking his safety for… for what?

Struggling, he sat up. Squinting through the pain, he tried to find where the other two were. Just to his right they fought in their tight space. He could feel the air vibrate and shake with each round of gunfire from Xigbar’s guns. He was fighting hard and so terribly close to Aeleus. Why bother getting so close? More damage to the giant perhaps.

Or to check on Dilan himself.

Dilan hadn’t meant to be the target. He wasn’t really supposed to harm a potential vessel, right? They wouldn’t want damaged goods.

Gritting his teeth, Dilan forced himself to his knees as the tomahawk swung down. “Xigbar!” he called out in warning.

[freeshooterxig-deactivated-deac]

Feet coiled, leaning his body right into a tear in the temporal space. Old habits, refusing to show his blind side to an enemy. Guns still up, protecting his flank as he moved to get away. Jump through space, another thirty feet back behind him. There his arms would vanish through another void, guns cocked back above the goliath of a guard, and unload the rest of his clip straight into the back of his neck. Mental count of his energy - he had about eighteen of his thirty six shots left. He’d unload, reload, dart and lock again— Until his name was called out.. Gold eye glanced to his left, heart freezing in his chest. A flash of red and black.

His arrowgun caught the first half of the blow. Sparks dancing from metal clashing against metal in blunt force trauma and power. Swung down like an axe, the tomahawk nearly ripped the weapon out of his left hand, shattering his crystalline magazine. Ethereal energy exploded like fireworks, free arrows lost without a target or cause. They rocketed, fraying and burning against clothing and broken concrete alike. The gun however didn’t take the worst of the blow.. Caught mid leap through the portal, his legs carried him outside of the full blow of the sweep. He felt something in his shoulder crack, eye widening in shock as his breath froze and his world momentarily went dark. The rift failed, his body fazing in and out of existence before he landed on the ground near Aeleus, a stone’s throw away. His body hit the ground the same time as the tomahawk. Right shoulder skidded across the earth.

Gold eye closed tightly, his focus shaking. A thin trail of blood poured out from the corner of his mouth, the man turning over, gasping for breath. Panic and self preservation almost seemed to break the grip of his Heart within the blink of an eye, his left gun vanishing out of a broken grip. Xigbar seethed out a sneer, trying to get up. A blow like that could have killed a human.. His body could take more punishment..At least he thought as much before he would start to fade away.. Lexaeus was in this to end it as well…  “Bastard…” he muttered under his breath, managing to crawl to a knee. The second gun shook in his hand, nerves on an adrenaline high as Darkness continued to pump through his veins. The mag clicked, in a flash of light defensively, his sight momentarily waving as it took more energy from what little reserve he had left..

[silentgoliath-blog]

The distraction had worked in Aeleus' advantage, though in a moment of panic, he thought that Dilan had intended on warning Xigbar of the oncoming attack.  He shoved the thought promptly away; Dilan would never abandon him like that, especially when he was so very close to his opponent, so very much in danger and, when there was so much riding on this battle.  Not only was Braig's life at stake, but his very existence. Everything that his brother in arms had once stood for was not being called into question, his body taken and used, poisoned into something not even remotely like the man he remembered.  it was horrifying, revolting.  His anger at Xemnas, at Xehanort was immeasurable.  Aeleus had not known true, blind, murderous rage until the darkness had taken him.  Now that he had felt it, he found it increasingly harder to stray from.

Aeleus had feared that the freeshooter would escape and duck away into the corridors of darkness, that it would take him far too much time recoiling from the last barrage of energy bullets to get in his own full attack, but truth be told, the pain was already receding, the blood forgotten, the anger set aside, and all that was left was that hunger. Xigbar paused for a fraction of a second, and it was all that Aeleus needed.  The hit made contact and with a sickening clank, he felt one of Xigbar's guns shatter as Skysplitter plunged through the Freeshooter’s defenses.  A flash of jarringly unnatural light, a sickening crunch and Xigbar was sent sprawling, face down in the rubble of the decrepit tower, wheezing out what was certainly a curse of some variety as he fought to keep himself steady, to get himself back up once again.  The blood, the anger, the pain and the hunger had all mixed into something that was past his abilities to comprehend.  Aeleus was quite a bit beyond hearing his curses now.  He was beyond hearing anything at all.   It was less than a thought, less than a notion, it was an urge, a sensation.

  Destroy.

He hefted his weapon, not feeling the weight as he stepped forward without hesitation, boots falling heavily on the ground.  Xigbar was raising his gun, but Aeleus could not see him. It no longer mattered.  All that remained was that singular, overpowering need.  The shot hit him.  He did not slow his pace, let alone even feel the shot itself. The ground shook in his wake, the trepidation of what was yet to come, the rage and deadly sense of purpose building and blinding.  He stood before the broken man, the weak one, he watched as his single golden eye phased in and out of focus before he lifted his weapon at full height gathering his strength for the final crushing blow.

And then he realized he was Lexaeus.

With a gasp of horror, his grip loosened and Skysplitter careened to the floor with a metallic thunk, cracking the rock directly behind the goliath guardian before dissolving into darkness. With the withdrawal of that overwhelming power, Aeleus now finally felt the throbbing sting of the wound he had taken directly to the torso.  He panted from the effort of awakening, dumbfounded by the murder that he had been just about to commit and thankful for his ability to withdraw from it.  The darkness was quickly becoming far too powerful to even risk use for defense, particularly with Lexaeus involved.

Aeleus drew no extra, hidden weapon. Taking a grappler's fighting stance, he lunged forward to knock Xigbar’s weapon away from his hand and knock him out.

[xaldinini]

Aeleus was speaking. Save him? They couldn’t save him. It was fight or side with him. That was the only option. Dilan had tried to find an answer in the short week he had to make up his mind. Xaldin had months of research with him. Nothing they had found was going to bring their friend back. 

The hand on his shoulder gripped him hard, trying to bring him out of his hollow state. Xigbar was gone. The word failure kept ringing through his head. He had failed to keep his promise. Failed to make up his mind. Failed to keep him safe. He was a failure as a lover and a friend. Did he truly have a right to stay by Xigbar’s side and help him at all? The man would only want him to fill seats and tally up to the body count. He didn’t need him any more than a space saver. Dilan was useless.

"He’s not Braig anymore. And we can’t save him Ael…" Dilan tried to say. His words lost in the explosion of earth and dust from the wall Aeleus had put up to protect them. Could he still count as a friend to Aeleus? Here the larger guard stood, trying to protect him and risking his life to save the two of them? From what, darkness? Each other? Xaldin and Lexaeus were far from companions in the years after they had been created. Was it right for Dilan to re-patch their friendship now?

The large guard disappeared, the threat was still in the area. Dilan needed to move. Find a weapon and help out his brother to fight his (ex?) lover. They were at the south gate, rubble and ruins lay all around them. Nothing truly within his fighting expertise but he could at least provide some form of a distraction for him.

Save him.

Save who?

Heart panged painfully in his chest as he glanced up at Xigbar, the walls of the cage rapidly growing around him not before he was able to fire off one more shot. “Aeleus!” Throwing his weight onto the other, he knocked him out of the way of the on coming snipe. A sharp sting in his right arm made him yell out in pain as the bullet burying itself into the flesh. Bright blue light had vanished by the time he hit the ground, left hand wrapping around the would as he felt warm blood bubble up to the surface and stain the white gloves.

[freeshooterxig-deactivated-deac]

Traitors.

First shot struck, energy erupting past fragments of rock and earth. Eye narrowed through the sight deadly, feeling his energy level splice momentarily as the magazine siphoned off more of his power. He exhaled letting it refill as his world slowly went silent. Xehanort’s heart raced on in his chest, feeding the chaos of his mind as his dark aura flowed into the gun. He thought he heard it whisper with each passing moment, dark thoughts feeding from the blood lust. Unworthy.. Make an example.. His mind whispered, watching their lips move sluggishly out of time and sync. Finger coiled on the trigger as he fired the second shot, almost minutely aware of the walls closing down on his blind sides through the scope.  Kill them. Use the Ke-

No.

Trails of blood. The shot rocketed through Dilan’s arm. Xigbar’s eye went wide. Finger locked down against the trigger, his body almost not his own. Iris quaked, time almost in a stand still as his Heart beat rapidly in his chest. Blood was in the air. Xaldin’s blood.. Had he really -… That hadn’t been him. The flash of panic phased him, the rifle unlocking from itself, grip almost numb. Teeth sneered, as he let the scope drop, mentally pushed back as his aura struggled and stiffed it’s way into his skin. A glint of fear shown in his pupil, the small realization sinking into what he had just..

Xigbar had fired. His finger was on the trigger. He hadn’t been the primary target. He didn’t want to hurt him again.. But Dilan had just stepped in the way.. Protecting.. Thoughts grew sick, his Heart starting to race once more as the spark left his sight, golden glazed over with the sheer look of insanity. He drew a soft breath, the back edge of it building into an unstable growl. Then the world seemed to catch up on itself. Earthen walls raised like talons of a bear trap, closing off the world to him like a cage. He shifted a mere inch, the world warping in a blur of gray and darkness around him. Xigbar’s knee fell to the ground below and well within the other’s guard. Dangerously close enough to take a swing at. Mags clicked with a white flash of light, before he drove the muzzles of Sharpshooter upwards into Aeleus’s lower gut. He started to unload a round on his point blank before his ankle twisted, meaning to spring away through another rift before the tomahawk fell.

[silentgoliath-blog]

It had happened so quickly, Aeleus did not even suspect that the shooter was aiming until it was far too late.  He had been hoping for luck, perhaps.  Hoping that maybe Braig was stronger than Xigbar, that he was fighting twice as hard as the both of them were.  He hoped that the second that he had taken to speak to Dilan had not effected their chances, but apparently he had been wrong.

Blood poured from the cut at Dilan's arm, soaking his sleeve and glove in an instant.  Aeleus never recalled feeling quite so blindsided as he did now, particularly at the prospect of seeing his brother take the hit.  Perhaps it was even more so that he had been the one that bullet was meant for. He was about to catch the man as he staggered but within the churning of the rocks above him, he sensed an emptiness, a lack of presence.  As he suspected, the Freeshooter had escaped.  It was foolish to trap the man in a cage, seeing as he had control over breaking the very boundaries of space, but really the action had been more to distract than crush. Aeleus nodded his thanks to his comrade in arms.  Dilan would have to take care of that wound himself for now, until they returned to the castle, because with the lancer out of commission, it would fall on the guardian to take up the defense.

  Aeleus had Skysplitter drawn, the weight of it far more mental than physical as it caused him to sense the presence of Xigbar nearby.  Words were giving way to sensations, logic was becoming blended with warrior-instincts.  His anger now had a taste, and it was metallic.  The longer he wielded the darkness, the more he felt it.  It was a hunger, a furious, raging hunger which demanded far more than something as simple as sustenance.  It did not want to gain anything.  It did not want power, control, wealth or even sex.  All of these corruptions, Aeleus could understand on a very human level.

Lexaeus wanted to destroy.

Thoughtlessly, mindlessly, illogically, violently. What Aeleus feared most was the fact that Lexaeus was more than capable.

When Xigbar dropped out of literally thin air to attack, Aeleus's focus had shifted, his mind harassed and his anger so powerfully fueled that he might have lost it as well if he had not recalled that he was not the only one depending on the outcome of this battle.  Dilan, wounded and confused, was still hanging in the balance.  Those attacks at a distance can cause some substantial damage.  Point blank, they were blindingly painful. As the shot hit his torso, he could not help the cry of pain that escaped his lips as he staggered from the force.  Clenching his fist on the weapon, he rounded for an attack on Xigbar, who had come so recklessly close now.  Through the pain of the attack, a crushing urge to end his opponent arose along with his weapon.

"No!" Aeleus urged himself through gritted teeth, controlling the power of the blow as to only be enough to harm, to cause him to knock him unconscious.

[xaldinini]

If one of them could leave, then he would be left with the other. He’d have to think of an explanation for it all when it came to that. Just what was he supposed to say? Aeleus caught him red-handed talking to the enemy. Xigbar wasn’t coming back to the Garden or the castle. He thought he had Dilan’s trust or at least a piece of it. It was all gone now. How did Aeleus find him?

Maybe that was just something they developed from being around each other so much before. Months and years spent guarding this world and the secrets of the castle. Surely it had to be something with that. Not to mention Aeleus was always in tune with the world around him. Lexaeus’ element of earth suited him to a T. Strong and loyal, both Aeleus and Lexaeus were true to their words and character. Dilan could swear they were practically one and the same.

But Aeleus was stubborn. He always found a way to get into the middle of trouble without meaning to. And then he wouldn’t listen to reason once he managed to wiggle his way into the center of it all.

"Now’s not the time Ael—" his words cut off by a sharp jab in his side causing him to let out a grunt. Elbow connecting with pressure point, making him flinch. Body froze up and his grip loosened on Xigbar’s arms, or at least what was left of one of them. He felt the man slip out between his arms and away from him as he stood there for a long moment. Just a quickly, Dilan felt his body reacting to the pain. A hand flew to his side, rubbing the sore spot while another reached out to grab at Xigbar only to clutch air.

Frantically, he looked around for the Nobody, silently hoping he would just leave without causing more of a scene. Something else caught his eye however.

Aeleus stood tall with blood soaking into his uniform from the shallow bullet holes. But what really caught the lancer’s gaze was the massive tomahawk in hand. That wasn’t Aeleus’ weapon but rather Lexaeus. Did Ael have his Nobody powers still? Was it still possible for him to have such a thing? And if it was, why did Dilan not have any? Did it have something to do with how they had awakened?

"How…? Aeleus, how do you still have that?"

[freeshooterxig-deactivated-deac]

There was a second of realization. Twisted mind saw the tomahawk but barely processed it shape or form before his disjointed hands and guns cracked against it’s frame. The rifts only broke the distance of space between them, not the pain that went along with it. He let out a grunt, his hands almost shattering in the blow as they whipped back to his sides in a recover. Dilan’s hand released at the same time, within the blink of an eye, not giving him a moment to snivel over injured wrists. His body vanished in a blur of lines, placing himself twenty feet up atop a broken wall. Xigbar fell to a knee, the sniper nearly dropping his guns to either side of his lithe frame. Fingers trembled, adrenaline from the Heart pounding in his chest to blood lust seeming the only thing that lessened the wound. Blood pooled purple under the layers of his gloves, skin and muscles throbbed, something probably broken. He panted, injured grip tightening down on the handles of his Sharpshooters. How long had it been since he had faced Lexaeus for that matter.. A year, two or three. He still hit like a truck. Was that the sheer tower of muscle he was or was that the dark scent that was pouring from his skin.. A wicked sneer folded on his lips. He couldn’t close the space between himself and the guard. Not to suffer a second blow like that. Tongue clicked under his breath before his guns flashed, the man locking them together into the shape of an elongated riffle. Molten possessed eye leveled behind the site, tunneling to a set of glowing cross hairs. It leveled on Aeleus’s head. Finger curled against the trigger, letting ethereal energy build through the center of the muzzle, forming a large black and blue bullet. "Not giving you a choice, traitor," he yelled, forgoing any sense of a normal taunt. The Critical Snipe fired, the space behind it warping in a distorted trail of blue light. "You’re not taking him from me!"

[silentgoliath-blog]

Dilan was losing it.

Aeleus could have groaned aloud for all the frustration.  They had finally had Xigbar within their grasp.  It would have been so much easier to knock him out from Dilan's point of view.  He had seen the man perform about a dozen different wrestling maneuvers from the position he had been in which would render his opponent absolutely helpless, if not incapacitated entirely.  Yet he had just stood there, stock still, foolishly struggling with Xigbar and making useless comments which no one could even really hear over the din of gunfire, which Aeleus had been having to deal with quite personally.

He looked shell-shocked, horrified, panicked.  Definitely losing it.

When he let Xigbar go, Aeleus had known that he had injured the man, but not irrevocably so.  Aeleus had held back, and Braig could be healed.  In fact, he could be put right quite speedily by the academics back in the castle if Aeleus could just manage to get the other man there.

And he was going to do it.  There was no question.  There was no turning back. Xigbar was gone, but not entirely.  He sensed the tension of battle, the madness of bloodlust that lingered about Xigbar like a sickening perfume.  The man was simply changing strategy, most like to a long distance rifle and making use of that 'sharpshooter' name of his. Lexaeus has been familiar with all of Xigbar's powers.  It was an essential part of training, to know your opponent.

He completely ignored Dilan's question (there was simply not enough time), grabbing him by the shoulder to focus his attention. "Come on, Dilan.   We're Braig's only hope.  He needs us now more than ever."  And his thoughts were interrupted by a shriek which he almost did not recognize it seemed so very inhuman, so animistic.  The words had not even yet processed when on instinct, his powers went to work. The stones of the very wall shifted beneath his feet, shifting and jutting up to form a barrier in a breath of a second before the hit came.

The explosion that followed was breathtakingly powerful.  Aeleus hardly noticed that the ends of his hair were singed or that his rock barrier had all but exploded in the wake of the attack, but Aeleus was entirely unharmed.  Xigbar's mistake had been his battle cry.  

Reckless.  Foolish.  Weak.  Destroy him.

The thoughts were dangerously organic, natural, threatening to overtake his calm logic.  Lexaeus was there, within his strength, within his power, he could not escape nature.  "We can't afford to fail him." Aeleus persisted, shoving the darkness back as gave Dilan a meaningful look and darted toward the crumbling wall where the shot had originated. Again, his powers went to work, summoning them forth as naturally as one might breath.  The stones of the wall began to shift, reform and build themselves into a cage.  On the surface of this, one confused thought was clear above the rest of the insanity of battle. Steal him away?   Dilan?

[xaldinini]

A shove back brought him out of his shock. He tipped back slightly, stepping back to catch himself from falling, Dilan shook himself awake. The sound of gunshots snapping his attention to the other two.

At first he didn’t think Aeleus had been hit, that they were just warning shots or Xigbar had simply missed. As if he would. Blood seeped from the shallow wounds before a splatter of it fell from the larger guard’s mouth. No—

He didn’t need to think, only react. Body shot forward arms wrapping under his armpits and hands holding onto his arms and forcing them up, pointing the barrels away from the human. “Xigbar stop!” he growled grappling him from behind in the small attempt to keep him from harming the other. Body pressed in close from behind him knowing better than to keep any distance between them without running the risk of him zapping to and fro.

Or maybe that would be a better idea, it would give him a chance to escape. A chance to get out of here. Forget about me… just go!

Words failed to pass through his lips as Aeleus’ voice reached his ears. He stared at him for a second and slowly shook his head. Save him? Xigbar was far too gone to be saved. Xaldin had tried for months to find a way to help him get back to normal. What he did understand about the process, it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t easy. Braig was long gone. Dilan hurt, finally admitting it to himself. He was never going to get Braig back. It was Xigbar or no one else. No one else…

"Get out," he said to Aeleus, trying to keep his grip on Xigbar. "You shouldn’t be here." How did he find him? Surely he didn’t follow him out of the castle. He looked shocked seeing the Nobody here, he couldn’t possibly have known about this meeting. Eyes darted to the fallen door and beyond the arch, were Even and Ienzo waiting for a chance to strike?

"You need to get out of here," he whispered to Xigbar. "Leave while you still can." Please…

[freeshooterxig-deactivated-deac]

Any sense of light or reason had left his sight. Breath seemed to go cold in an instant, a wicked grin slighted on his face as free bullet after free bullet left the magazine. He wasn’t even aware of the count. Six at a time, ricocheting off cloth and blood, each pierce no more threatening than a bee sting, but in rapid succession. He had no idea how many bullets it would take to sink the giant. His health and stamina where two of his more glorified statuses within the Organization beyond his Strength. Sink enough into him and he would drop. So with each shot he fired, energy banked, the smell of blood driving lust and madness into his bones. The volley continued. Xigbar shot to kill. Blind rage, blood lust and darkness possessing his body. "That’s not my-!!" he started to seethe out angrily, before his arm was forced upright. Left in a pin, the gun shot upwards, target lost as bullets exploded against the open air. Their light trails flared like fireworks in the failing light. Ethereal energy dipped back down towards their real target. Their wide arc dying in midair, the magic unable to last the range of the curve or smiting a burn mark against stone.

II didn’t hear the other’s words, pleases and growls of reason. The lithe man pulled hard in his grip, struggling hard against the grapple. It wasn’t the stronger arms of a lover trying to shield him from the darkness world. It was a bind, one that rung of more chains, torture, desperation. Of experimentation, questioning and clawing at his mind day in and day out for answers. They didn’t care. Behind bars left to rot. Locked away back in that castle, away from his destiny, away from his fate. A scream left his lips like a caged animal, pinned down with fangs still more than willing to bite. Energy reloaded into the single Sharpshooter, as it’s mate flashing into his right grip, muzzle humming dangerously close to the guard’s ear. Grip tightened, knuckles white under black gloves. He struggled, eye narrowed in a death glare on Aeleus’s face. Dilan’s words screamed hard in his ears, making his left eye wince. ‘Save him. They were the one’s needing to be saved. But they were the fools whom betrayed Xemnas, who betrayed Xehanort. Unfit. Unloya-’ Xigbar gritted his teeth as he detatched his arm by the shoulder in a rift, still caught in the full nelson.

"I’m not going back there!" Appearing next to his side, his elbow slung hard, jabbing him between the third and fourth rib. Hardly enough to get out of his pin, but maybe enough to stun him. The guns, controlled by his set of detached wrists, reappeared behind Aeleus and continued firing.

[silentgoliath-blog]

The situation was overwhelmingly strange and Aeleus didn't even know where to begin. It was all like a bad fever dream, as though the people of his past had been misformed and misshapen into something unrecognizable and unlike themselves. 

Where Dilan was fearful and unsure, with his eyes darting from one man to another, as though afraid of being reprimanded for the slightest bit of incorrect thinking.  Aeleus could sense his fear, his uncertainty in a much more potent way than he could see it.  He had never known his best friend to doubt his own standings, his own feelings and mindset.  The man had always known where he stood, and whenever he doubted that, he quickly found his footing once again.  Whether it be on a more moral path, or otherwise really depended on how much darkness Aeleus could sense around him at the time.

And then there was that twisted grin on Braig's face as his entire body was hijacked from him.  Xehanort's eye glinted from within Braig's socket and Aeleus felt the need to bite back a wave of nausea.  Xigbar was pulling the trigger again and again with such glee that, in horror, Aeleus almost forgot he was the one that was continually the target.  Xigbar was shooting to kill.  He had ever intention of destruction, and no will with which to look back at his actions.  Braig would never be so cruel.  Braig would have known better. Braig was his brother in arms, and this imposter was just a farce, an evil, wicked piece of Braig's mind which had been engorged and distorted beyond anything Aeleus's subconscious could have tortured him with in his sleep.

They had to save him from this.  If Aeleus had been lost to the beast within himself, he would have wanted his companions to stop him.  He owed the same to his fellow guard.

Dilan grabbed Xigbar from behind, pinning his arms, and causing them to go off target.  Aeleus, seeing their chance, darted in to try to knock Braig out. If only they could get him back, maybe they could save whatever was left of his true self.  He faltered upon hearing Dilan's order for him to retreat. He caught himself, mid-lunge and stopped, looking at him in sheer disbelief. 

What the hell was going on?

"I won't abandon you or Braig." Aeleus stood firm by his beliefs, his mouth set with a frown of frustration and confusion but stalwart loyalty nonetheless. Dilan might be looking to him in panicked fear, and Braig might be dead set on trying to murder him, but Aeleus would stand by them both.  They needed the support more than ever and he would not fail them again.

Of course, it was always a mistake to try to attack him from behind.  This fact stood true for both the attacker and Aeleus himself.

He drew forth his weapon, summoning his power, instinct taking over where his thoughts were already occupied with his duty and his worry over his brothers. In one swift, heavy blow, he swatted the weapons away as though they were mere annoyances.

Something deep, dark within him confirmed that they were simply annoyances to him now.  His power was to the level that he should simply take control of this entire situation. Force his will.  Might makes right. The weapon within Aeleus's hands all but vibrated with power which he feared to admit to the fact that it was his own. He forced the thoughts back, gritting his teeth at the effort. This darkness could not, would not change him. He had self control; he was his own master.

...wasn't he?

[thebootydiaries]

am i doing this right

[xaldinini]

What did he want? Even Xaldin couldn’t bring it to admit it to himself. The question threw him for a loop, his eyes darting away as he tried to think of an answer. Did he actually want anything?

The one thing he could think of that he wanted was just the satisfaction of knowing he had done a good job. But to get that he needed a purpose. Something to do react this completion. Becoming a guard and protecting others, that is what he had done for years. It was all he had really known. His childhood was long gone and any memories of such a time had been suppressed and locked away. He as a child had wanted little to nothing at all. So what was he supposed to do as an adult? Dilan followed rules and guidelines, he needed order and demanded perfection out of anything he did.

So just what was it that made him move forward?

What made Xaldin keep fighting? The promise of being whole? It was just some sort of goal he had been promised, there was no scientific fact that they would have gotten hearts after obtaining the key to Kingdom Hearts. It was all on what they had to guess and assume. And yet he died trying to achieve that goal.

Heart drummed wildly in his chest. The gloved hand pressed against it, spreading warmth throughout his being. So simple yet he craved more. His body wanting to reach out and wrap itself around his small form, bringing him in close and just holding him. Was it just the satisfaction of knowing he was wanted that he wants? Something so fragile…

Shattered.

Pounding footsteps preceded the eruption of sound and the appearance of his fellow guard. There was silence for a long moment, nothing but sheer panic ran through Dilan’s mind. They are going to take Xigbar away…. Were his only thoughts. Never mind that he himself would probably be restrained and kept under constant supervision. Any sort of time alone he would lose. But no, his thoughts were more on the one who would suffer more.

"Aeleus…." he finally breathed out. Wide violet eyes shifted down to Xigbar, his hand still on his chest and then back to the larger man. "No—" Back to Xigbar’s face, his heart racing as he tried to find some sort of explanation. Anything that could get them out of this situation. But for now, he needed to get out of here. "Go."

[freeshooterxig-deactivated-deac]

The crash of the steel against concrete made his hand jump off of the other’s chest. It took all of a second, eye opening to the fullest, lips drawing to a tight line as adrenaline pumped through his veins. The voice of a memory failing like a whisper. The full weight of it pressed against his mind. "Braig.." They had found him. One single fleeting thought that these screwed up worlds had started to turn in his favor.. He had him, he had him right within his finger tips. What would it have taken him? To spirit the other away now, never have to deal with this dying world ever again. Yet he couldn’t do it. Dilan hadn’t agreed, the process if it would work at all had to be taken willingly.. Whatever words he could have said were stolen. Both human and Nobody just stood there frozen, caught in the act. Of what? Conspiracy? Like that was a shocking crime… No.. It was a lot simpler than that. Xigbar’s nostril’s flared, golden eye closing tightly, as the doubt and darkness took hold of his mind. He felt it seep through the cracks of whatever wall he had manage to patch together through over the years. In the blink of an eye, the flood gates opened with a crack of pain and a thought of betrayal. Dilan had been followed. This was a trap. Dilan had brought him here... Worthless. Unloyal. He was never planning on coming with you. Liar. Fingers clenched slightly at midair between the space between his left hand pushed hard on the other’s chest. Shoving him out of the way, to manage to put whatever distance he could within a split second. Footing twisted sharp, hair flashing in a whirl of silver and black to Aeleus. A black aura flashed along his skin. The Freeshooter’s stare was almost void, pupil dilated with a look of possession. A white mauve light flashed into his left grip, Sharpshooter falling into his hand. The barrel humming violently with rage, free bullets white hot. He leveled the site on the taller guard’s chest. And then he fired. And fired. And fired. And fired.

[silentgoliath-blog]

It was just a bit like being sucker punched, Aeleus thought as he stood up on the southern wall, buffeted by strong winds which he simply could not notice right now.  His attention, his surprise was locked on to the two figures before him and he could not be deterred, even if his mind was having a bit of trouble forming a cohesive reaction beyond gawking.

To him Braig had been dead, or as good as.  Aeleus recalled the nightmares now, rather unwillingly, of hearing Braig's screams, his pleas for help, rushing off to help him and only finding his dismembered body, or perhaps ash, and in one particularly gruesome instance, a single golden eye. But this was proof, this was undeniable evidence now that Braig was whole and intact, standing before them.

Touching Dilan rather fondly.  He could think on that later.  Perhaps they'd need their own room once they all returned together so they could...discuss things.

A notion lingering in the back of his mind (which sounded strikingly like a duo of nagging scientists) told him that this was not even half a simple as he was hoping it would be.  That Braig was a bit farther off than Xigbar in this instant by the flashing of that golden eye.  He absolutely refused to give that thought any credence. Maybe Dilan had talked to him.  Maybe Braig had decided to come back.  Maybe they could all finally save him now.  Maybe there was hope here, after all.

That was, of course, until Dilan yelled for Braig to go.  The man was looking at him in panic, maybe even anger and frustration.  What could possibly be going on here that he needed to hide away?

There was no helping it now, he had to intercede. If Braig were to leave now, Xehanort would surely reclaim him for even considering returning to the castle, punish him harshly and Aeleus couldn't stand the thought of his brother finding out exactly what cruelty true darkness could hold.  He dashed forward, trying desperately to stop him.  "What are you-" And that was before he heard gunfire.

Pain struck him, searing across his arms and chest as shot after shot hit it's mark with a deadly precision and even stronger ill intent.  Aeleus felt his body tense, felt the undeniable urge to draw his weapon forth from the very tendrils of power and (to his own horror) darkness gathered around him in his panic, but bracing himself, and gritting his teeth, he refused.  He would not fight his brother, and not with a weapon created of his own lack of control, his own shortcomings and failures.  

He spat blood, hardly feeling the fresh wounds on his body for the adrenaline pumping through his veins.  He had become more powerful, he realized with dread which he did not want to admit to.  "Braig, come back!" He cried, not knowing how else to reach the man. "Dilan, we have to save him.  I can't do it alone."

[beecher-arts]

You won’t see me fall apart, cuz I’ve got an elastic heart

Take this whatever way you will (I hardly draw LexZex and it’s not really my ship) but I love the idea of Aeleus and Ienzo having a sort of father/son relationship. While watching the Elastic Heart music video I couldn’t help but see that sort of deep, emotional tug-of-war between a paternal figure and a child.  This pose in particular made me think of Aeleus and Ienzo.