The lush carpet of green grass whimpered beneath his feet as Axel walked across the billowed field surrounding the college campus, flanked by two obsessively chatting girls, one a cherry brunette and the other a golden blonde. They talked about what they always did with the widest of smiles on their faces: boys. Axel rolled his eyes and continued to walk, paying absolutely no attention to them whatsoever as they continued walking down the steadily dropping slope of a hill.

He turned his head slightly, eyes catching on an adorably spiky-haired blonde several dozen yards away from him. He called the boy's name and Roxas' pale face turned over his shoulder so that his pale azure eyes could lock with Axel's sparkling soda bottle green ones. Roxas, whose face reflected beams of excitement, wore a timber wolf gray tank top that hugged his abs just as a girl hugged her boyfriend, making Axel smirk. Cameo green pants clung to his proportionately muscled legs, and the boy's feet were decked up with black and white Converse-style shoes. In his hands, he held a multi-shaded brown oval, a set of white laces glued on the top of the oval's leathery skin. Axel's smirk widened and he stepped away from the girls. Roxas motioned with a simple lift of his head and an emphasis on his eyebrows that he was about to throw the football at him, and that he wanted him to catch it. Axel returned the gesture and ran forward, eyes trained on the football the whole time.

Roxas grinned and turned, hurtling the football at him in a precision spiral. He shouted "Axel, catch!"

Beyond the boundaries of your city's lights.

The football flew straight at him and he raised his hands, the setting sun an orange fragment in his vision as he leaned back slightly to catch it. Leather landed in his palms and his fingers hooked around it, keeping his grip on the slick surface of the ball. The girls cheered and Roxas smiled.

Stand the heroes waiting for your cries.

Axel's fingers gently grasped a deflated football bathing in a dark puddle in front of him and he raised it up, clasping his other hand around it, remembering his college years from long ago. His red hair was pulled back in a ponytail that stuck to his back and he was clothed with varying shades of green and gray. A shadow loomed over him and he tilted his head to look at the blonde in camouflage uniform that now stood next to him, his sapphire eyes calm as he remained in a locked gaze until Axel's broke away to stare at the "US ARMY" patch that adorned Roxas' clavicle; the name of his chosen profession. Back in college, the two of them had decided to go into the National Guard, so that they would never be apart and if one of them died, at least the other could die next to them.

Roxas looked around, scanning the devastation the vicious storm left upon the unfortunate suburbia town's doorstep from several days ago. He winced, seeing broken dolls and a bright red bicycle among the wreckage, and thought of how happy kids had once been when they played with them, laughing and smiling. Now, there was nothing but the husks of the children's belongings.

So many times you did not bring this on yourself.
When the moment finally comes, I'll be there to help.

All around them, other members of their Company and some of the unhurt survivors scanned the rubble, picking through belongings and occasionally finding the most sacred of memories, hardly touched, hardly forgotten.

On that day, when you need your brothers and sisters to care. I'll be right here.

The loud outburst of a cannon echoed somewhere to Roxas' left as he ran, his deep brown headwear falling over his eyes as a cannonball exploded on the ground next to him, the fragments scrapping against his musket and his soft tan leggings and boots. Some of the fragments were large enough to cut through the fabric of his clothing and scratch him, leaving bleeding tears in his skin in several places on his legs. He winced and ran faster, jumping over a gap in the brush and landing safely on the other side just as a flash of smoke and fire came into his vision on the right at least ten feet away.

Citizen soldiers.
Holding the life of the ones that we guide from the dark of despair.
Standing on guard for the ones that we've sheltered.
We'll always be ready because we will always be there.

He ran through the tall oaks and pines, getting grazed by cannon fire, but never directly hit. A small area of exposed grass appeared in front of him and he quickened his, darting to the left and right to avoid the barrage of gunpowder and made it safely to the long line of brush where his comrades were, each readying their musket for the arrival of the ones in red, the British Army's soldiers; "Red Coats." Roxas avoided a final explosion behind him and slid into the short trench, running along it until he collapsed in his spot in the line of minutemen. He panted and turned his head, coming face to face with a pale complexion, green eyes, black markings, and a Cheshire grin. Axel asked him softly "You okay?" while loading his musket and leaning against the earthen wall of the trench, his black coat flecked with dirt. Roxas pressed his lips to Axel's left cheek and whispered in his ear "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't okay." Axel brought his free arm around him and drew him close, whispering back "I was just worried, got it memorized?"

They turned around, still in their crouch, quickly spotting a single line of men strutting towards them, furry black crowns adorning their heads and bright crimson coats on their bodies. Muskets were glued to their sides and the silver daggers on their tips gleamed as they continued walking through the smoke from the fires started by the gunpowder barrage.

When there're people crying in the streets
When they're starving for a meal to eat
When they simply need a place to make their beds
Right here underneath my wing you can rest your head.

The whirl of a helicopter over head startled Roxas as he blinked and stared at the patch of dried blood on the floor next to him. His eyes were dull and his hair was clotted with dirt and debris. His chest heaved as he remained leaned against the wall, shrapnel buried in his legs and gashes in his arms and on his stomach. Blood stained the front of his olive tank top, his hand rising slightly to cover a particularly nasty wound across his stomach. He rested his forehead against the cold stone of the wall he leaned against, moonlight soaking through a shattered window and pooling on his face, revealing multiple bruises and a cut just above his eye. The smell of smoke made his nose twitch and he groaned, the slightest shift causing him pain.

The helicopter suddenly stopped its flight and hovered a few hundred feet away from the building, twin ropes dropping out from the open pockets in its sides. One man, for each rope, slid down it, carrying a high-powered military rifle in one hand and holding onto the rope with the other.

On that day when you need your brothers and sisters to care I'll be right here.

Roxas walked, carrying the red, white, and blue banner that was the American flag. Next to him, Axel carried a second flag, a gentle smile on is face as the two of them walked, each flanked by an unknown soldier carrying a bayonet. All four of them walked at the exact same pace, speed, and stature, their arms held in one hand and leaned up against their shoulder and their formal attire adorned with their medals and awards.

Citizen soldiers.
Holding the life of the ones that we guide from the dark of despair.

A golden star was pinned to Roxas' left clavicle. He smiled and raised his hand in salute to the silver-haired sergeant in front of him, who returned it. Axel and the rest of Fox Company stood at attention in front of a line of tanks. Among them, Axel was the only one who was smiling.

Standing on guard for the ones that we've sheltered.
We'll always be ready because we will always be there.

Roxas dove behind a large, metal object, his helmet clunking against it as Axel slid into position next to him, panting as his boots dug into the sand. Roxas held his M1Garand at the ready, machine gun fire rippling past the two of them and into unfortunate soldiers, who fell to the sand, either screaming and crying, or making no sound at all.

The pair ran out from behind the object they had hidden behind and dashed to another, just barely avoiding getting shot to pieces or blown to bits. The three men behind them were not so lucky; they got blown by a pair of shells hitting them in the same spot about 15 feet away from them. Nothing was left when the smoke cleared.

Several more shells exploded next to them and Roxas swallowed the fear in his throat, looking at the gold engagement ring on his middle finger. He suddenly felt light and he raised his hackles, shouting an outburst at the fiendish enemy raking his comrades with gunfire and unattached a grenade hanging from his jacket grabbing the pin with his teeth. He yanked it out quickly as he dashed to his feet and ran straight at the enemy, gunfire exploding all around them, his eyes ablaze with sapphire fire.

Hope and pray that you never need me the rest assured, I will not let you down

A small boy looked up at the empty sky above him, his yellow-blue eyes fearful and scared. As Axel left the structure where some of the survivors waited, Roxas stayed behind with the boy's parents, comforting them. Axel searched, looking through piles of rubble until he spotted a mop of golden hair under what appeared to be the remains of the roof of a house. He crawled under it and gently gathered the boy up in his arms, laying the child's head on his shoulder.

I walk beside you but you may not see me

The group of four soldiers who dropped from the helicopter strafed toward the building, weapons raised in case of an ambush. Behind the first man's pair of goggles, soda bottle green eyes flashed, and the man was now Axel, searching for his comrade. Upon reaching one corner of the building, the group formed into a half-circle, crawling along the wall with Axel at the front, two stationed outward at the sides, and the other positioned behind, and they quickly made their way towards the front of the building; closer to finding Roxas.

The strongest among you may not wear a crown.

They both turned around when the raising of muskets was heard and brought their own to bare, holding their muskets against their shoulders as the approaching Red Coats readied their own. Several tense moments passed and then…the first shot was fired. Uproar started as rest of the men fired their own, Roxas and Axel being among the last as they wanted to get the most precise shot possible.

On that day when you need your brothers and sisters to care I'll be right here.

As the door burst open, the soldier behind Axel dashed into the doorway, gun aimed at to shoot at anything that could appear among the rubble within the building. He quickly spotted Roxas' wounded form against one of the walls and stepped toward him, motioning for the rest to follow him. Axel rushed in and went to Roxas' side, hauling him up to his feet with the help of the soldier who found him. Roxas draped his arm across the pair's shoulders and they walked out, one man guarding them from the front, the other from the back. That way, they wouldn't risk any more casualties.

On that day when you don't have a street for the burden you bare I'll be right here.

Roxas reached the crest of a hill in the sand and threw the grenade straight at a group of machine gunners still firing from their posts. The grenade hit straight…and true…

Citizen soldiers holding the life of the ones that need guide from the dark of despair.

Roxas climbed through the rubble, soft moonlight cascading over a massive pile of rubble. Smoke billowed out from smoldering metal and the light of the flashlight landed on the only standing piece of the building; one wall of the building, that was all. He frowned as Axel followed up quickly behind him, a scorned expression on his face as he looked up at the remains of the buildings that had remained standing just that morning. That morning; the morning that no one suspected would begin the way it did. The day the Towers fell.

Standing on guard for the ones that need shelter
We'll always be ready because we will always be there.

Axel walked towards the child's parents, a soft smile on his face. The parents immediately jumped to their feet, the mother taking the child from him with the gentlest of care while the father hugged the trio, happy that his family was reunited.

Axel turned to look at Roxas, walking over to him and standing in front of him, still wearing that soft smile. The blonde-haired boy gleamed and he stood up, hugging him tightly and nuzzling his face in the material of his jacket. Axel's smile softened and he brought the boy closer, resting his chin on the boy's head, looking down at the sliver of gold that beamed at him on his middle finger…