Yay! Here is a new story. I hope you all like the first chapter:)

Details:

Major characters: Roxas, Axel, Namine, Sora, Riku, Ven,

Minor characters: Seifer, Xemnas, Hayner, Kairi, Yuffie (Final Fantasy), Leon, Aerith, Reno, Tifa, Denzel, and Gailardia Gardios (from Tales of the Abyss).

Pairing: Axel X Roxas (mild)

mentioning of Namine X Roxas, and Hayner X Roxas

Sora X Riku (mild)

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Roxas played with the zipper that dangled from his coat, eyeing Axel with deep blue orbs. Axel was too busy to notice Roxas's boredom though. He typed vigorously on the computer, his leather gloved fingers skidding across the keyboard. Axel's green gaze never slid away from the computer monitor.

Roxas took in a deep breath, combing a hand through his spiky blonde hair. Axel had been typing non-stop for two hours. The whole time he hadn't even said a word. It disappointed Roxas. But it was for a good cause.

Axel had a high paying job which involved computers. It kept the two roommates going. Roxas did all he could for them too, of course. He applied for a job and received the position. His employment was with 'Subway.' Roxas called it his 'crappy job.' Compared to Axel, it was a lousy job. But hey, a jobs a job and money is money.

The two only lived in an apartment anyways. They'd been friends since Roxas was in grade six. After University they decided to move in together… well after Axel finished university. Roxas was still in high school.

Roxas sighed, preparing himself to finally say something. Hopefully it wouldn't ruin Axel's concentration. But before a single sound could escape from the blonde's lips, Axel quickly said, "If you're lonely Roxy, call your brother. He probably wants to hear from you soon. You know how he gets about you."

Roxas nodded. Deep down he was hurt though. Could Axel not tell that it was he who he wished to speak with…?

Roxas stood up, walking into another room where the phone was stored. He began to dial. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to phone Sora…" Roxas muttered quietly to himself.

Sora, his older brother, looked a lot like him. Sora too, had blue eyes. Their hair was different though. Sora's hair was also spiked, but it was a different style. It stuck up in all directions while Roxas's seemed a little neater. It concentrated more on one side. While Roxas had blonde hair, Sora has a dark brown colour. But quite recently he put blonde highlights into his dark hair. It looked more like a dirty blonde now.

Pretty much their physical traits were the only things similar. Their personalities were completely different. Sora is more outgoing and competitive while Roxas is quiet, shy and compassionate. But like many people say, some people get along best with their opposite. It was exactly that for these two. They both looked out for one another.

Roxas brought the phone up to his ear, listening to the ringing on the other end of the line. Suddenly a voice replied, "Hello?" The voice was that of a female… not Sora's voice. Roxas shook his head a little, soon stuttering, "Hi… is Sora home?"

"Yes, he is," she paused. "This wouldn't be Sora's little brother by any chance… would it?"

Roxas cocked an eyebrow, slowly answering, "Yes…"

"Really?! Great! Its great to finally meet you! Sora's told me so much about you!"

"How come…?"

The girl paused again, "Oh, I'm sorry! I totally forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kairi. I'm Sora's girlfriend's cousin."

Roxas frowned.

Where had he heard that name before? But more importantly, Sora had a girlfriend!!?? "So… who's Sora's girlfriend?" Roxas asked, trying to sound casual. Kairi responded, "What do you mean? You don't know? But… they've been dating for three months." Roxas's eyes narrowed, "Is that so… Well, who is she?"

"My cousin, Namine," Kairi said cheerfully.

Roxas froze! So that's where he'd heard Kairi's name. From Namine.

Roxas swallowed thickly, biting his lip. He felt extremely betrayed at the moment. Namine was his ex-girlfriend. How could his own brother do that to him!? No wonder Sora hadn't said anything…

"That's great," Roxas said. He tried to sound cheerful, but it came out glum. He then added, "Oh… sorry. I need to go. I'll just phone back some other time."

"Oh… all right," Kairi could tell that she had said something that she shouldn't have. Roxas hung up and then slowly walked back into the room where Axel sat, still typing.

Axel sighed after hearing the sound of Roxas sitting down… well actually, it was more as if he'd tossed himself onto the couch. Axel's fingers finally withdrew from the keyboard. He quickly turned the monitor off and then stood up. "Talking with Sora get you down, Roxy?" Axel asked as he knelt down to look into Roxas's face. The blonde's eyes darted away, "No."

Axel grinned, "Well you sure sound gloomy. How about we cheer you up? How does some sea-salt ice cream sound?" This caught Roxas's attention. He smiled weakly, "That'd be great."

Axel and Roxas sat on lush grass, licking at their sea-salt ice cream. They had found a nice grassy area in a nearby park. It wasn't only the park that was gorgeous though. The day to, was lovely. There was a gentle breeze and the sun was shining. There was no humidity or dampness that predicted rain. It was the perfect day.

Though the day seemed amazing, Roxas only felt gloomy. He felt betrayed. He'd always felt that he and Sora were on good terms. Axel sighed as he finished off his ice cream, "Roxas… do you wanna talk about it?"

Roxas's head perked up. Whenever Axel called him by his full name that meant that he was being completely serious. During Axel's serious moments, Roxas felt as if he could pour his whole soul out to him. He liked that about Axel. Axel could be a total goof-ball and make people laugh, while at other times, he could be very understanding and compassionate.

Roxas smiled softly to himself. Earlier, he was beginning to believe that he and Axel were drifting apart. But he should have known that, that wasn't true.

"Axel… don't worry about me. I just have mixed emotions. I'm just too sensitive," Roxas said dully. Axel placed a hand on the other's shoulder firmly, but gently.

"Then tell me. What kind of emotions?" Axel asked. Roxas's eyes narrowed. He wanted to tell Axel, but he always seemed to have this unconfident side to him that always plotted out the worst-case scenario.

He combed a hand through his blonde, spiky hair, biting his lip afterwards. He then cried out desperately, "Axel, I feel betrayed… and unwanted, and lonely!"

Axel frowned, "Okay. Lets get to the bottom of this. It always helps to know why your feeling the way you are. So we'll break this down." The red-head paused, "Why do you feel betrayed, Roxas?"

"Because… because Sora's keeping secrets from me."

Axel nodded, "That makes sense."

Roxas took a deep breath before speaking again, His bright blue eyes glanced at Axel sadly, quietly saying, "And I feel that I'm unwanted… because… well, you've been so busy lately… and you know I have no friends at school. That's also the reason why I'm lonely. Even Namine won't talk to me anymore. She always said that there was no hard feelings between us… But I guess now that she's with Sora…" He stopped mid-sentence, letting out a sigh.

Axel rubbed at the back of his head, giving Roxas a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry, Roxas… I'm one of the reasons why your feeling the way you are."

Roxas shook his head quickly, "No! I'm just stressed! That wasn't one of my biggest bothers. I guess when they all get jumbled up, I kinda lose it."

Axel smiled weakly. He knew his friend by now. He just didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. "You know… if you feel that lonely, you only need to say so. I could take a few days off and I could take you somewhere over the Christmas holidays when your out of school. It'd be fun," Axel said. Roxas blushed a little. He muttered, "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course!" Axel was quick to reply.

Roxas smiled to himself. Axel always gave him a sort of warm feeling.

Axel then added, "But until the holidays, you'll need to bear with me. If I'm gonna take time off, I need to work twice as hard." Roxas nodded happily, slurping up the last of his ice cream. He then cheerfully cooed, "Thank you, Axel!"

Axel nodded, pushing himself up off the ground. He offered Roxas a hand, saying, "Come on. Lets get back home. Its getting late and you have school tomorrow." Roxas took Axel's hand firmly and lifted himself up. "Alright, lets go."

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Axel and Roxas entered their apartment building. Axel grinned, "Well, looks like we have a message!" Roxas turned to look at their phone. A red light flickered on the receiver. He shrugged, "Probably just some people trying to sell us stuff."

The blonde walked into the kitchen and turned the stove on.

After a few minutes, Axel walked into the small kitchen too. "I'll handle dinner. You've got a message from Sora, Roxy," Axel said. Roxas left the kitchen and grabbed the phone. He dialled in his older brother's number, awaiting the other to pick up. "Hello?" Sora's voice said from the other line.

"Hey," Roxas responded.

"Oh, hi Roxas…" Sora paused for a moment. He then said shamefully, "Kairi told you about me and Namine, huh?"

"…yeah"

"Sorry, Roxas. I should've told you."

"just don't worry about it, " Roxas mumbled. But Sora went on, "No Roxas. It isn't fine. I should've told you."

"I guess."

Sora breathed in deeply, "But you don't need to worry anymore. Namine and I broke up today…" Roxas gasped, "What? Really?… Are you alright?"

"Hey, don't you worry about me! I didn't want to speak with you so you'd feel sorry for me. I wanted to apologize, " Sora snapped.

Now Roxas was the one who was becoming impatient, "No! You already apologized! And besides, I'm not throwing you a pity party… I'm concerned for you. We ARE brothers, remember."

Sora chuckled, "Okay Roxas. You're the best."

Both of them remained silent for several moments. But suddenly Roxas broke the silence, "Sora? Is it alright if I pop by? You probably need some company."

"But its getting dark out."

"Yeah, don't worry. The subway stations only a few blocks from my house. Then the ride is only ten minutes to your area. From that stop, your homes only five minutes away. Its no biggie."

"Fine… but only if your positive," Sora said.

The two then hung up. Roxas stuffed his wallet into his pocket and then pulled his trench coat on. "Hey, Axel! I'm going to see Sora! I'll be back in a few hours, alright?" he called out. Axel's head peered out from the kitchen, "Okay, but you be careful."

"I will."

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Rain began to pour down from the skies as Roxas quickly walked through a dark and musty alleyway. Instead of walking all the way around to reach the subway station, he decided to cut through the alley. It was much faster.

The boy's shoes splashed through puddles as his long, black coat was being drowned in the downpour. Roxas frowned as he looked up at the sky. "Damn rain," he muttered as he brought his coat's hood up over his head.

The sky was pitch black. He couldn't tell if it was because of dark, stormy clouds or if it was just because it was the night time. Well, either way… so much for the gorgeous day.

The rain continued to crash down, never becoming slowing. It was coming down in buckets. Roxas's leather coat was already drenched. He grunted quickening his pace. That is, until suddenly, Roxas heard a hoarse breathing sound.

He froze.

"Who's there?!" Roxas blurted out. The strange breaths stopped and were instead replaced by a scratchy voice. "Ven?" the voice sneered.

Roxas's heart skipped a beat… Ven? Who was Ven?!

"I think you've got the wrong person," Roxas responded cooly. He may have sounded casual, but he was anything but calm. His heart felt as if it was hammering through his chest.

Roxas couldn't help but hear a spine-tingling chuckle over the crashing of the rain. He then suddenly yelled out, "LIAR! You traitor! You think you can just come back here? Well, guess again, Ven!"

Roxas shook his head madly, "No, you've got the wrong guy!"

Roxas was beginning to understand now. This man was probably mistaking him for an ex-gang member. But before Roxas could say anything more, the man charged at him. Roxas rapidly jumped out of the way, crashing himself face-first onto the wet, cobblestone. Roxas quickly pushed himself up, his eyes narrowing.

He could've sworn that he'd heard the sound of an object being swung through the air while the man had ran at him. Answering Roxas's question, a blade could be seen gleaming in the moonlight.

The blonde swallowed thickly. He hated to fight when it could be avoided, and this situation was just a big misunderstanding.

"Look, can we not fight!? I'm not this Ven guy!" Roxas continued desperately. The mysterious man laughed, "Oh, and I'm Santa!" Roxas sighed. The sarcasm told him that this guy wasn't believing a word that he said.

"HEY! LOOK BOYS! LOOK WHO'S COME BACK!" the man suddenly cried out. To Roxas's dismay, eight more gangsters revealed themselves. "Why, if it isn't Ven…" one of them whispered. Another one came up from behind Roxas, tugging his hood down. "VEN!" he growled, pushing Roxas roughly. Roxas reclaimed his balance and began to shout, "I'm not Ven! You guys even took my hood down! isn't that proof enough!?"

All of the men laughed. "Who are you trying to fool, boy?"

Roxas rolled his eyes, becoming extremely annoyed. "Jeez, is Ven my doppelganger or something? Either that… or these guys are really, really drunk," Roxas mumbled to himself. But now wasn't the time to be talking about such things… Roxas needed to engage these guys in combat.

"Your gonna regret ditching us, man," one of them threatened. Roxas didn't respond, he only tensed up. This was getting pretty troublesome.

Roxas ran at one of the men, swivelling his heel so that he elbowed him in the chest. The twist of his heel gave the blow more power. After that one move, hell seemed to break loose. Everyone in the area broke out, entering the battle. Two guys ran at Roxas from both sides. He gracefully jumped up and performed a back flip, causing the two men to only run into each other. As Roxas landed, one of the gangsters roughly grabbed him from behind, holding his arms so that it was as if the blond was handcuffed. Roxas grunted, kicking his foot back. The man screeched as Roxas's foot bashed into his shin. "Damn you, boy," he cursed, crumbling onto the ground as his lower leg gave away.

He'd already hit four of them, but some of them were beginning to recover. That wasn't good… He needed to get out of there quickly.

Roxas shook his head. He could feel the rain water soaking through is hair.

"Look, there's no reason for us to fight," Roxas said. "How about I just leave quietly and no one needs to get hurt."

"Oh yeah right, I bet you'd really like that!"

Roxas sighed, which soon turned into a gasp. One of the men had sneaked up behind him and pinned him, similar to what the other guy had did. Except when Roxas kicked this guy, he didn't crumble. He was solid.

Roxas thrashed, but then suddenly another gangster approached and began to pound the blonde. He pulled his fist back, then dug it into Roxas's stomach. Roxas chocked as his knees seemed to buckled. He sagged down, only being held up by the one who held him captive.

The next thing Roxas knew, he was on the ground. He could feel hard blows crashing into his sides, but nothing seemed to make sense at that moment. He closed his eyes.

That's when suddenly a soothing voice began to speak within his head, dragging him away from all the pain and confusion.

'Which do you cherish more? Strength and bravery, or honest and compassion?' the voice asked. Roxas cocked an eyebrow. What the hell…

What was this all about? Roxas may not have understood the meaning of this question at the time, but he didn't hesitate to make a quick decision. He'd never felt like the 'hero' type, so he uttered, "Honesty and compassion."

The mighty voice echoed throughout his mind, stating, 'If that is what you wish.'

Just then, after a blinding flash of intense light, Roxas felt the dampness of the rain and the aching of his body once again. He was back in the battle, still laying on the ground while being beaten. But the gangsters seemed to withdraw.

Roxas opened a blue eye. The men had taken a few steps back. Roxas blinked curiously, that is until he noticed that he grasped onto a mystic looking weapon. His hand gripped the handle of it tightly. Roxas stood up, amazed by this gorgeous, but most likely dangerous, object. The long object was shaped like a key. It was an angelic, light colour from the handle and to the rim of the hook. The key hook itself was made up of several colourful, dull spikes. And further up the handle, on the opposite side of the hook, the metal came out to the side and back again to form a heart shape. This heart shape was gold. On the end of the handle, hung a keychain. It was a flower shaped keychain.

Roxas looked the weapon up and down. He didn't know what it was and where it had come from, but he did know that this heavenly weapon seemed to radiate comforting warmth. It made him feel cozy and hopeful. This warmth seemed to travel right up his arm and into his whole body.

Roxas looked up at the cloudy sky and smiled. He wondered if that voice had given this 'key' to him. "Thank you," Roxas whispered. As if in response, the voice began to speak again, though rather faded, 'The weapon that you see before you is called a Keyblade. This Keyblade is special. It represents light and all that is good. It is Oathkeeper.' The voice then vanished completely.

Roxas nodded, repeating, "Oathkeeper, huh?"

One of the gang members growled, "Come on, lets get him! Ven's never been that tough! We can get him, even if he does have that thing!" Roxas bit his lip. He didn't know what this 'Oathkeeper' could do… He didn't want to hurt anybody. But then he remembered what that voice had said. It had said that the Oathkeeper represents light and all that is good…

"Then maybe it doesn't have the power to kill people…" Roxas told himself. He only hoped he was right. But that could've meant anything: from the Oathkeeper to the wielder himself.

Roxas swallowed thickly as one of the men ran at him.

He swung the Oathkeeper forward, slamming it against the man's chest. He screamed, immediately crumbling to the floor afterwards. Roxas gasped, taking several steps away from the fallen body. "D-did I kill him!?"

The rest of the men began to shake in fear, rapidly turning around and running out of the narrow, dark alleyway. Roxas took a deep breath. But in the middle of this breath, he began to choke. A sharp pain came from his right side. The blonde turned around, his blue eyes wide with fear and surprise.

One of the gang members stood behind him, digging a dagger into Roxas's flesh. The man grinned at him. But before Roxas fell to the ground, he brought his Keyblade fourth and whipped the man upside the head. He immediately lost consciousness.

Roxas soon fell to the ground as well, the Oathkeeper escaping his clutch and skidding across the wet, slippery cobblestone.

He lay on the ground, soon using one of his hands to squeeze at the wound. He needed to stop the blood from flowing out of his body. But it was no use. Rich blood oozed from the torn skin, mixing with the rain water and tainting its pureness.

Roxas groaned. It felt as if life itself was being sucked away from him. The warmth seemed to be fading, pouring out of him. This made the pouring rain seem deadly cold. The dampness soaked right through him, chilling even the bone. The young boy's lips began to go blue as he shivered crazily. He felt the darkness of death swallowing him. It would all be over soon…

Roxas began to fade. His eyes slowly shut as his world became black.

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Hope you liked it! Please review, and then I can put up the second chappie ASAP.