Re:Organization

Xigbar waited in the lounge, perched loosely on the arm of one of the couches, the portal already open next to him, the darkness coiling and pulsating in an endless slow spiral. He drummed the backs of his boots against the couch absently, ignoring the look Saix was sending him, the sheet of paper with their exact orders on it already in his hand. It didn't seem like a hard mission; just get in, kill things, get out. Definitely the kind of thing Axel was good back-up for.

Xigbar crouched low in front of Kaito, his arms crossed loosely over his knees as he watched the sleeping VOCALOID. Above their heads, the giant digital screen shone, letters and numbers scrolling past the screen in the background, a large progression bar square in the centre. Wires and cables connected Kaito's head set to the large computer, the entire room silent except for the low hum of the processors.

BACKING UP KOKORO.EXE
95% COMPLETE . . .
96% COMPLETE . . .
97% COMPLETE . . .|

He wondered if this was even going to work. None of them had ever tried to digitize and back-up a heart, and even if they had, Kaito was a whole unknown variable on his own. He wasn't even sure if taking his heart was going to work. If he turned him into a nobody, he'd follow orders without losing the kid, but...

A short sound signalled the completion of the back-up process, and Xigbar pushed up with a soft sound. Turning off the programme, he retrieved the USB, holding up the small device to the bright light of the room. If everything had gone all right, Kaito's heart should be backed up on here. It was ridiculous to think that Demyx had given him this idea, but, huh, perhaps the less you knew, the less limited you were? That would explain Demyx all right.

Slipping the small USB on a chain, he then hung it around his neck for safe-keeping. He could always find a better place to keep it later, but leaving the data on this computer, that could be accessed by anyone in the Organization, seemed like the very definition of a really bad idea. Saix might not be a scientist, but he knew how to use a computer.

Disconnecting Kaito from the computer, he then turned it off before crouching down in front of Kaito again. He looked peaceful in his sleep. It was a shame he had to do this. Either way, Kaito was going to lose something important today: his heart or his life. Still, it was the only way. Reaching for his head-set, he turned off Kaito's sleep mode, watching him with a thin grin. "Wakey-wakey, doofus."

At the first flat knock on the door, Xigbar glanced up form his book curiously. By the time the second knock came, he had tossed his book on the bed, and had managed to make it across the room, opening the door before the third knock could land. Arching a brow at Demyx, he leaned against the door post, relaxed and unconcerned. Demyx looked angry, but that wasn't exactly a rare occurrence. Though he didn't usually come out with it, Xigbar knew he didn't care for most of the other members of the organization and somehow Xigbar had become the go-to-guy when Demyx felt like complaining. Probably cause he didn't snitch. "You look pissed, dude. Larxene giving you trouble again?"

Xigbar strolled along the ceiling, speaking in hushed tones to one of the snipers floating along his side, dismissing the current guards he had on Kaito. With Xigbar with him, Kaito wouldn't need his normal babysitters and the less eyes there, the better it was. He doubted very much that his troops would ever fink, but he didn't need to test that particular theory.

Waving away the sniper at his side, he stepped into the kitchen. It didn't take long to located Kaito; he was the biggest, most colourful thing in a kitchen that seemed to be made of nothing but white and greys. Jumping down to the floor, he landed lightly behind Kaito, reaching up to tug on his scarf while he stuck a note to The Notice Board Of Broken Down Communication. "Come on, hot shot. We are out of here."

Somehow he was going to win this. It didn't matter how long it took. But the other blue-haired man had been intent to give him a blankfaced staredown since he had entered the room and sat down on the couch, refusing even to put down his clipboard. Of course, Kaito had to silently accept the challenge.


He really wondered what Xigbar had wanted to talk to him about, though...

And maybe he could share snacks with Demyx again. He liked that person, too.



Oh. Staring at people is hard work, he finally realized. He began to pout at Saix instead of staring.

Demyx's head was throbbing again by the time he got to Xigbar's rooms; using the Corridors was no fun, but he expected walking would be even worse.  He leaned his forehead against the cool stone of the doorjamb before he raised a hand to knock softly and tried to straighten, not wanting to look as three-quarters dead as he felt.  Xigbar opened the door and looked down at him, and he realized belatedly that he'd forgotten to clean the blood off of his face when he caught the expression on Xigbar's face. 

"Ah... hi," he said sheepishly, rubbing at the side of his cheek with his sleeve, careful not to pull at the cut.  "Um."

The castle was boring now that Xigbar had to wait for Kaito to heal up his burn wounds and get over his heat exhaustion. He had been planning on taking the doof with him to Wonderland, but he doubted even Kaito'd like some kinda tea party while he was still trying not to puke up his guts.

Aah, so boring. You'd almost be tempted to volunteer for a mission. Almost.

Xigbar scuffed his feet against the ceiling as he made his way to the room where he had first found Kaito. Now that he had some time left, he was actually interested to try and see if he could find more about his new favourite doll from Ansem's computer. Maybe the old wise guy had had more data on him stored away some-

Oh hello.

"Kaito, the hell you dye your hair red for?"

Xigbar led Kaito through the pristine white hallways of the castle, down to where Vexen nested, deep in the castle's basements. It was not wonder the old man was pale as anything; he never saw sun unless they pushed him out into it. Not that Xigbar would ever do that.

More than once.

Or twice.

"Don't worry about Vex. I'll make sure he doesn't make this too long. He listens to me," he told Kaito cheerfully, guiding the more than slightly scorched vocaloid along as Kaito clung to his left arm. "He still remembers the killer wedgies I used to give him when we were kids."

White walls, white floors, and nearly eternal silence-- aside from the castle residents occasional chatter and/or the low hum of music. This place seemed kind of boring after awhile. Maybe having emotions and all that made it more of a pain to be here than it was for the Nobodies.

But! Master said they were going out somewhere. And with somebody else who knows about music things, too. This should be way better than sitting around playing with the computers for the short man.

He waited patiently in the center of Hall of Empty Melodies for the other two. Almost ironic with that name, as he sang to himself.

Lexaeus gathered up the things for his medkit quickly and hesitated for a half-second before twitching his free hand and opening a portal, deciding it would be too long to walk. He stepped through it and out just outside the door to Zexion's rooms, his fingers wrapped tight around the handle of the kit as he raised his other hand and knocked carefully on the door, his blue eyes narrowed, his face still.

Deep in the Underground Concourse, just off of the normal path, Xigbar opened up the portal, leading Kaito through. It was the easiest place to appear without being seen. Not, mind you, that the organization was very concerned with the mental well being of the citizens of Twilight Town, but it did well not to attract undo attention to themselves. They didn't need to become a beep on that mouse's radar just yet, after all.

Pushing his hood back and shaking out his hair, Xigbar gave Kaito an easy grin. "So, what do you wanna have, kiddo? This town got loads to offer."

Xigbar leaned back in the computer chair, his boots kicked up on the desk, as he went through the wealth of files they had managed to grab from Ansem's computer so long ago. They hadn't been able to grab everything and what they had mostly ranged from useless to even more useless to god, why would anybody even want to know that. It was boring. It was mind numbing.

It was Xemnas' perfect revenge.

Xigbar grouched a little as he went through the endless seeming folders, scanning the contents of each quickly, before moving onto the next. Most of it was junk that even Ansem the wiseass had dismissed as ever being useful for their old research. Coming to the next folder, Xigbar arched a brow at the message that popped up on the screen.

Opening program file KAITO.app

>Yes
Cancel

Well, Xigbar thought, as he clicked the button, starting up the program. If it was a virus, at least he was out of this hellish, unfair task.

The portal opened up in a dark, unused corner of the vast building, allowing five people to pass through. Or rather, five beings that once had been people but now could no longer be named that. And it wasn't just the issue of not having a heart that did it. It seemed this world had a sense of humour.

Xigbar let the portal close behind them with a casual wave of his paw. Paw? Yes, paw. It seemed while passing through the corridor of darkness to get here, their bodies had fallen under the spell of this world's magic, adjusting to become, well-

"Mice," Xigbar said, with a twitch of his whiskers, peering underneath the others' hoods to confirm that, yes, they had all turned into frigging rodents. At least, Zexion wasn't here. Dude would have taken it as a personal affront on his diminutive size, no doubt. "Well," he said, giving the others a mouse-y grin, "at least, it's better than fish." Atlantica. Shudder.