Second Chance.
Note: AU, but not part of any of my current stories. Also, I own nothing here.
CH1: Fading away...?
Having just escaped from being killed by his former co-worker Luxord, Axel arrived in the pathway of darkness, but he was struggling, clutching onto the deep wound on his side. It hurt like hell. He knew that he was losing a battle to live. But then again, what can he possibly live for now, when everything, both in his human-life and his life as a Nobody, was taken away from him? How can he possibly go on now?
As a human and as a teenager, Axel, back then he was known as Lea, lost his life, his parents, his first best friend, his home, and his heart. Now, as an adult Nobody, he lost his new best friend, and lost the will and any hope to get his heart back. Maybe he was one of those who were never meant to exist in the first place. Maybe he was accidently born while he was forbidden to, and god probably decided to punish him that one day he would suffer so much, never allowed to have friends, freedom or love.
It wasn't fair.
All Axel wanted now was to see his best friend Roxas, the Nobody of Sora who strangely returned to human form shortly after the birth of Roxas. No matter if those two were the same person, Axel knew that Roxas was different compared to Sora. Heck, Saix has changed so much from his old personality as Isa.
But now the redhead had to hold on. He had to. Or else who would rescue Kairi? Axel knew that it was his own fault that the Princess of Heart got into this mess, also involving Sora, and all because of his own selfish desires to bring Roxas back. That young Nobody made Axel feel his emotions again, almost as if he had a heart again. It was strange, and he didn't want to admit it, but now, he can no longer deny it.
Having Roxas around made Axel happy.
Now, Axel felt guilty for what he has done. He remembered Sora being angry at him, and he didn't blame the kid. He hasn't felt guilt in years. Actually, he felt guilt when Roxas left the Organization.
"You can't turn against the Organization! You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!" Axel exclaimed. He didn't know why he shouted this, but he felt...desperate. Desperate to keep his friend safe, no matter what.
"No one would miss me." Roxas simply replied, before walking away, much to Axel's horror.
Shaking his head, Axel protested, "That's not true!" but he was too late, as his friend walked away. He then added in a ping of sadness, and guilt, "I would." feeling his chest heavy. Why though? He had no heart. He shouldn't feel this way.
The memory was painful, and Axel tried over and over again to forget it. He wanted forgiveness. But for someone like him, an assassin, there is no forgiveness.
Feeling dizzy and losing consciousness, Axel tried harder to stay awake, but he was losing. "No...fading away...I can't...not yet..." he said, panting and breathing heavily. Collasping on the floor, Axel knew, then and there, that this was it. This is the end of him-again, and this time, forever.
His last thoughts before he lost consciousness was, '...Roxas.' before everything went black.
"Yo, Roxas!" Axel called out as he found his blonde-haired best friend on the top of the Castle, the youngest Nobody gazing at Kingdom Hearts, the hearts floating up that acted like stars. Standing behind his best friend, Axel asked curiously, "What you doing up here?"
"I was just wondering," Roxas replied, "When Kingdom Hearts is completed, we'd get our hearts back, and we'd feel them again. What was it like to feel a heart?"
Surprised and puzzled at this question, Axel scratched the back of his hea while ruffling his own spiky red hair, admitting, "I don't know. I guess we'll find out."
Nodding, Roxas said, "Yeah, you're right."
Somehow awakening from what he thought was a dream, Axel blinked his eyes open, a bit amazed that he was still alive. Forcing himself to wake up completely, the redhead pushed himself up, struggling, but finding the strength to continue on, and he panted. He realised that he can still move, and he could also...sense others close by. Not just the Dusks coming to kill him, probably under Xemnas' orders, but also to kill incoming intruders.
As he walked slowly, finding enough strength to at least fight, Axel's eyes widened as he recongised who were heading to possibly towards the Realm of Darkness.
Sora and his friends had arrived, and they were in trouble, outnumbered by the Dusks.
Not wanting to have them get killed, knowing that Sora is now Kairi's only hope, Axel summoned his chakrams and approached them while fighting off his former followers. Axel knew, he could no longer live, except for one thing; atonement.
"It's no use!" Sora exclaimed as he, Donald and Goofy were trapped in the middle of numberous Nobodies.
"Don't stop moving, or the darkness will overtake you!" Axel shouted to get their attention, before he leaped and slashed at two nobodies, wanting to give them a chance to escape. "Get goin'!" he told them firmly.
Sora, shocked at Axel's sudden change of sides, asked, "Why?"
"Don't ask!" Axel argued, "Just do it-!" he was cut off guard when several nobodies leaped onto him, causing him to crash onto the ground. He screamed as his wound was getting worse. Trapped underneath the Dusks, Axel decided to accept his fate.
Surprisingly, Sora destroyed the nobodies that trapped Axel and asked, "Are you okay?"
Looking at the teen in disbelief, Axel asked, "Why...why did you save me?"
"Why? Does it need to have a reason?" Sora asked back, and for a moment, Axel could see Roxas in Sora's eyes. The nobody of this boy staring at him, and this is when the red-haired nobody had finally come to accept that Roxas is back were he belongs, and will never be free again, but it seemed that he didn't mind. If only Sora knew that.
Nodding, Axel stood back up, and with the help of Sora who was slashing hard with his Keyblade, fought against the dusks. Both of them, Donald and Goofy were still fighting, but it seemed that the numbers were growing instead of decreasing, which was horrible.
'Damn! These guys just don't know when to quit, do they?' Axel thought as he and Sora stood back to back, once again trapped, but their weapons still in place. Axel panted, his wound getting even worse.
"I think I liked it better when they were on my side." He admitted in near exhaustion.
"Feeling a little...regret?" Sora asked in a teasing tone.
This made Axel smirk. He hated to admit it, but he liked this kid too. But his chest felt heavy again. This time he knew, there was no escaping his fate, and he wasn't going to try to. If this is how his death was going to be, then so be it. He knew how to get them out of this situation, but it would mean...the cost of his own life.
So, pretending to act like it's a casual day, Axel looked back at Sora and replied with a smirk, "Nah, I can handle these punks. Watch this!" and with a great serge of power within his body, using all of his strength, Axel screamed as he unleashed a gigantic torrent of flames which obliterate the Nobody horde.
Within the flash, Axel collasped onto his back, feeling himself disappear. He lost all of his strength, and knew that this time, this was definately the end of him, for real. But at least he did the right thing before he would die. He was ready to accept it.
Sora, seeing this, rushed over to his side and knelt down, scared and horrified of what's happening. At the moment, Sora didn't care if Axel was a nobody or not. The redhead had saved them, and now had just sacrificed himself in order to do so.
"You're...fading away?" Sora realised, tears in his voice.
"Well," Axel began weakly, "That's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack. You know what I mean?" before correcting himself, "Not that Nobodies actually HAVE beings...right?" he smiled, but felt like he wanted to...cry.
Gazing at Sora, Axel told him, "Anyway, I digress. Go, find Kairi." then remembered and added, "Oh, almost forgot...Sorry for what I did to her." there, he made the apology and he braced himself to get yelled at.
But instead, Sora suggested, "When we find her, you can tell her that yourself." much to his surprise. Axel couldn't believe this kid. Man, the Keyblade wielder was way too nice for his own good, but then again, it somewhat made Axel feel a bit better, relieved that he was forgiven.
Even so, his time was up. "Think I'll pass." he declined, "My heart just wouldn't be in it, you know? Heh, haven't got one." he laughed weakly at his own slight stupidity. It was strange, how the feeling of death was making him both feel free yet scared.
"Axel, what were you trying to do?" Sora asked, saddened for the dying human-formed nobody.
If Axel was going to die, he wanted to at least admit the truth to Sora. "I wanted to see Roxas." the redhead answered, "He...was the only one I liked... He made me
feel...like I had a heart. It's kind of...funny..." memories of his days with Roxas, the good and fun days, filled his mind, and Axel could feel something form in his eyes, and he realised that they were tears. He hasn't felt them in years before he died as a human.
He glanced at Sora with a sad smile and admitted, "You make me feel...the same." his voice quivering. Feeling closer to death, he knew that he didn't hurry, then Sora and the others would be trapped here forever.
"Kairi's in the castle dungeon..." Axel finally said, concluding, "Now go." weakly holding his hand up shakily, and with the last of his powers, summoned a corridor of darkness, before falling limp, his eyes closing and his head slightly to the side on the ground.
But unexpectly, Sora grabbed hold of Axel's hand, and just before the red-haired nobody would truly disappear, Sora muttered his name, and the next thing that happened...a curaga spell gathered from Sora's body and seeped into Axel's, the darkness that was causing him to disappear was fading, and his body was being healed.
Sora blinked in shock at what just happened, and, Axel gasped, snapped back awake and, suddenly feeling half back to health, his wounds all gone, slowly sat up with Sora's help, as Donald and Goofy approached, also shocked at what just happened.
"W-what happened?" Axel asked, staring at his hands, still in shock. "How did I...? he trailled off in sheer disbelief.
"I don't know, but," Sora began uncertainly, staring at his own hands, and admitted, "I think my curaga spell just saved you, and I didn't even call for it." to which Axel glanced at him.
"But how?" Axel whispered, "I was ready to die." he didn't understand. How can a curaga magic save him, even if the one who had the ability to use the spell didn't even call for it?
Unless...
'Roxas...did you save me?' Axel thought. 'Did you...are you still awake, even though you're with Sora now?'
"That was...really weird." Sora admitted. "But, anyway, Axel, what are you gonna do now?"
Hearing this made Axel pause. He had suddenly been given a second chance, but why? In truth, he had began to accept his fate to die and disappear forever, but now that he's still around, and, well, in a company of those who hate him, he had no idea. He wanted to help in rescuing Kairi, but he didn't feel comfortable in doing so.
"I don't know." He admitted, "I should've just disappeared, but...*Ugh*, I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Donald asked, a bit annoyed. While he had to admit that he had to be grateful that Axel saved them from the Dusks, the white mage still hated the red-head, due to him being a member of Organization XIII.
Axel shrugged, "For one thing, I ain't gonna be on the Organization's side again. The moment I left to find Roxas, they want my head-literally. Though they wanted his head too."
The trio blinked in surprise and glanced at each other at this, yet another reveal was upon them. Goofy then asked, "Roxas was part of Oraganization XIII too?"
Crap! Axel made a slip there. Rubbing the back of his head, he admitted, "Well, yeah. He was the last member to join in and-" before cutting himself off as he realised what Goofy just said and asked in shock, "Wait a sec! How'd you know Roxas?"
"Well, uh, we didn't actually know him, but we have a photo of 'im in Twilight Town." Goofy answered as he pulled out the photo and gave it to Axel who looked at it, his eyes widening. It was the photo made from the Simulation Twilight Town-a fake of Roxas, and those three kids when Riku and DiZ kidnapped him to revive Sora.
"I was the one who somehow knew his name." Sora spoke up, causing Axel to glance at him. "For some reason, the name just popped up into my head."
So Sora didn't know the entire truth about his nobody yet he was automatically given his nobody's name, all because of this photo? Who gave this to them?
"This is how you managed to get here?" Axel asked.
"Something like that." Sora nodded, before saying, "Anyway, we should get going. Kairi's waiting for us."
"Guess I'd better commit suicide to get off your backs." Axel sighed as he stood up, knowing that he didn't belong anywhere.
"Suicide!?" Donald and Goofy exclaimed in horror.
"What? Now I'm not even allowed to kill myself?" the red-haired Nobody asked in annoyed sarcasm. "You guys know that I don't exist."
Sora stood up and pointed out, "At this point, I don't care. You saved us, and even though you don't have a heart, I think we can't make you an exception. That's why I want you to come with us."
"What!?" Axel, Donald and Goofy asked in shock.
"Whoa there, kid!" Axel shook his head, "You seriously trust me being around with you? What kind of tree did you fall from?"
Donald went up to Sora and asked, "Are you nuts!?"
"It's just..." Sora began, "Maybe there are a few Nobodies that are different from the others." He explained, "Like with other things we've encountered in our journey. Like how we thought we'd never see Leon and the others again, yet we got to meet up with them and some of our other friends."
Goofy then remembered, "And how some of us thought Iago would still be a bad guy but actually helped us out and saved us back in Agrabah, kinda like what Axel just did."
"And time-travel too!" Sora added. "I believe that there are things that are impossible can be possible."
Even Axel was amazed by this. He never thought about any of this, or even think that he would survive and gain Sora's trust, even though he didn't expect to get that either. It wasn't on his list, that's for sure. Still, he felt a bit nervous about this.
"You sure it's a good idea?" Axel asked.
"I'm positive." Sora nodded.
"Everybody! Thank goodness!" a new voice joined them. The four of them turned to see that King Mickey had finally joined up with them again, but when the mouse king stopped to greet Sora, Donald and Goofy, he blinked in shock at the sight of Axel turned away slightly.
"Oraganization XIII!?" Mickey exclaimed.
"Wait, your majesty!" Sora pointed out, "Axel saved us from a bunch of Nobodies and even opened a portal for us." before he and Goofy went into full explaination on Axel's atonement, while the said redhead felt even more uncomfortable, and Donald tapped his foot, getting impaitent and even more annoyed.
Once the explaination was finished, Mickey glanced at Axel who looked at him and the others again, still feeling uncertaind, the king finally nodded and replied, "Well...I guess there are a few exceptions." much to Donald's shock.
"You really don't mind?" Axel asked.
Mickey smiled, "Yup! You know as they say, 'Can't judge a book by it's cover'!"
Hearing this made Axel softly chuckle. Yeah, even he knew that speech. Nodding with new determination, he said, "I'll lead you guys to the Castle, but we have to be careful. The Organization are more vilgilant since Rox' and I deserted and, well, what you guys did."
Nodding, the red-haired Nobody lead the four heroes into the portal to his former home, all five of them knowing that the biggest challenge was yet to come. For one thing, Axel was unaware that something else was going to happen to him.
This idea was nagging me and while I want to finish my other stories, I've been staring at the screen on the stories, completely blocked, until this and the sequals for "The Betrayal of Light" came along, so, in order to prevent spoilers, I decided to do this.
Please review, tell me what you think, and look out for more chapters. (Edited and fixed up on the 12th of June-2017)