Roxas was taking the back way home again. Today had been one shitty day, and he just wanted to get home as soon as possible. After everything that's happened to him lately, the last thing he wanted to do was be out any longer than he needed to. He shuffled his feet on the damp ground, trying not to think of the recent happenings; of those people in black following him.
He shook his head of those thoughts, and concentrated on where he was going, making sure he didn't walk down the wrong alleyway, like he had done on many occasions. The perpetual twilight glow bathing the roads was making Roxas' path harder to see. He chuckled wryly to himself; getting lost in an alleyway would definitely complete his day.
He felt a small amount of relief when he turned a corner, knowing he was almost back. Unfortunately, that relief was short lived when something stopped him. He felt a tall, gangly figure slam against his own, knocking him back. He stumbled, but regained his balance to see who his assailant was.
"Hey, Roxas! Sorry, man, I didn't see you." the man said. He was an unusual looking guy; with long, gravity-defying red, spiky hair and striking emerald-green eyes. Despite his apology, the expression on the man's face was far from contrite; his eyes were practically glowing with mirth, and a smirk was pulling at his lips.
Roxas was caught off guard by his response. How did he know his name? He was sure he'd remember if he had met a man as…. interesting looking as this one. Shaking his head, he turned and tried to walk passed the man, not giving any sort of response. Before he could fully pass, however, a hand dropped onto his shoulder, stopping his movement.
"Roxas! I've been looking all over for you!" Roxas tensed at the touch and brushed the redhead's hand off his shoulder as he muttered "Try not to bump into me again, okay?" He was not in the mood to deal with this guy right now, especially since he apparently knew Roxas' name.
"Hey, it's no big deal! I just wasn't watching where I was walkin'." The man said pleasantly. His carefree demeanor was incredibly irritating.
Turning his head towards him, Roxas replied, "Well maybe you should…" It was then that he noticed what the redhead was wearing.
"Y…you're-," he was cut off by the man's laughter.
"Hey, now, don't get so upset over a little bump!" The man said casually, with small grin. The man had the same black cloak as the other people Roxas kept running into the past few days.
"You're one of those guys!" Roxas yelled. "Stop following me around, damn it!" His temper was rising quickly and he summoned his Keyblade, pointing it threateningly at the weird man. He had had enough of these guys bullying him.
The strange redhead didn't seem to care about the fact that a sword, of sorts, was now pointed at him. In fact, the grin on the man's face had only widened, and his emerald eyes were twinkling with amusement, of all things. "Hah. You love the way I follow you around, Roxy, baby." He obviously didn't see Roxas as a threat, even with the blade in his hands.
Roxas tightened his grip on the handle, irritated by the ridiculous comment. "'Love it'...? I don't even know who you are! Why do you people keep following me? Just leave me alone, already!"
The stranger looked disappointed at the response, his grin fading to a small, disappointed frown. "You do too know me, Roxas. C'mon! Try to remember me!"
Roxas paused. "Know you?" He lowered his Keyblade slightly and stared up at the tall man with a confused expression. "I've never seen you before…I don't even know your name."
The man's attitude immediately changed from disappointed to angry. "AXEL. My. Name. Is. AXEL. Got it memorized?" He asked, irritated.
Roxas was surprised at the sudden change in the man's demeanor. He went from carefree and relaxed to tense and annoyed... all over his name. "Um, okay. Axel… But that doesn't change the fact that I don't know you. Now, would you people just leave me alone?"
Hoping that would end the conversation, he turned around to leave. Before he could take a step, however, a huge wall of flames appeared in front of him. "Whoa!" Roxas leaped back, almost stumbling to the ground. "What…what the hell?" He yelled, staring wide-eyed at the fire that appeared out of nowhere. He turned back to Axel, who now had a feral grin on his face.
"Geez! What…how? How did you do that?" He asked, fear, confusion and awe coloring his voice. Despite the fact that he just asked, Roxas had a feeling that Axel wouldn't tell him anything. His suspicion was confirmed when Axel's feral grin morphed to a sly smirk, and no answer came.
Instead of trying to understand the situation, Roxas held his Keyblade defensively. This guy was obviously dangerous, and it was clear he didn't intend to allow Roxas to just walk away.
Axel put his hands up defensively, the smirk still in place. "Hey, now! Calm down, Roxy, there's no need for violence. I just wanna talk, okay?"
Roxas stared. "R-Roxy?"
Axel looked away and scratched his head. "Well, yeah. It's what I call you, remember?"
"No, I don't!" He let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, I don't know what you and your other friends in black want with me, but I'm getting a bit tired of all the rough housing...so just say what you want to say and leave me alone."
"Hey! Stop overreacting kid, okay? You spaz over nothing sometimes, geez." Axel responded casually, completely disregarding Roxas' request.
"I'm not 'spazzing!'" Roxas snapped. "And I'm not a kid…"
"Hah. If you say so, Roxy. Still a bit on the short side, then, huh?" He giggled.
Roxas glared at him.
"Hey, c'mon. Just a joke." Axel sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair. "Aw, kid, don't go emo, again. I told you, you overreact over nothing."
That little comment pushed Roxas over the edge. "Who are you to talk to me like you know me! You don't know anything about me!" The next thing he knew, he was running towards Axel, Keyblade in hand, ready to attack.
Axel's smirk didn't fade as he unconcernedly summoned his chakrams, the Eternal Flames, shaking his head and sighing. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen.
Roxas swung his Keyblade at Axel who blocked it effortlessly and pushed the blond back several feet.
"You call that an attack?" Axel asked mockingly, his voice light with laughter. The blond's sad attempts to fight him were rather entertaining to the Nobody.
Roxas flew back, almost falling over, but caught himself and charged forward, again, for another attack. But, again, his attack was blocked by Axel with minimal effort, who then slung one of his chakrams at Roxas, connecting with his chest pushing him several feet away. Roxas cringed, but the attack did little damage other than creating distance in between him and Axel. The redhead laughed and chucked a fireball at Roxas' feet, missing on purpose.
"Shit!" Roxas jumped at the fireball, but realized its teasing intention. He shot Axel a hateful glare in response. Despite this guy's casual attitude, he was strong…
Once again, Roxas leaped forward with fury, swinging the Keyblade at Axel, this time finally landing a blow, but one that wasn't very powerful. Wincing slightly at the attack, Axel quickly slung both chakrams at Roxas, powerfully this time, knocking Roxas back, and sending him tumbling over the cobbled ground
"Careful, Roxy. Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, would we?" He still held his playful smirk, but his voice had turned slightly acidic.
Roxas glared up at Axel from the ground, wincing from the blow. "You….asshole!" He struggled to his feet, positioning himself for another attack.
Before he could, however, Axel held out both arms and a ring of flames burst out of the ground, surrounding them. The blond jumped at the sudden burst of fire, almost falling to the ground again. The heat of the fire singed his back, forcing him to take a step toward Axel.
"Ready to talk, now, Roxy? Or do we need to continue this little...'fight?'" He asked, a fiery-red eyebrow raised in question.
Roxas paused and glared at him, hesitant to attack after what he had just seen. Just how much power did this guy have?
The redhead smiled. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'" His chakrams vanished in a puff of fire as he crossed his arms. "What do you remember, Roxas? Anything?"
"I already told you I don't!" the blond hollered back. Turning around, he swatted at the flames behind him frustratedly. "Damn it! Let me out!"
Axel frowned and put his hands on his hips. "Tsk tsk, Roxy. I'm just trying to have a friendly little chat between old pals. You are my best friend, remember? Eating Sea-Salt Ice Cream at the top of the clock tower?" Some of the power in his voice was lost while asking this, so that, towards the end of his question, his voice sounded almost…desperate.
Roxas turned back to the redhead slowly, confusion replacing some of his anger. "My…my best friend? But...but I've never even met you before." his tone softened slightly in response to Axel's.
"Yes, you have! That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Axel retorted, his tone turning hopeful. "I know you better than anyone."
Roxas stared at him with a bewildered expression. He couldn't comprehend the idea. How in the world could this pyromaniac be his 'best friend?' He was sure he'd never seen him before; Axel didn't seem like the type of person you could easily forget. And why was he wearing the same thing as those other people that were following Roxas? They can't all just want to be friends with him.
"But how?" he asked, his voice strained, "How can we be 'best friends' if I've never even met you? The only time I've ever seen you people in black is when you're attacking me."
"We're just trying to get you to come back!" Axel explained. He cocked his head at Roxas, his spikes swaying softly at the motion, and paused, staring at the blond with a confused expression on his tattooed face. "Don't...don't you remember the Organization at all?"
Roxas looked back up at the strange man, meeting his intense stare. The expectance was clearly visible in his emerald eyes. "…Organization?" was the only response he could make.
Axel shifted his weight, crossing his arms again. "We're called Organization XIII. And you're Number XIII. Got it memorized?" He asked, pointing to his head.
"You're saying... I'm part of your organization? Why the hell would I be in a group like yours?" He shook his head at the idea. "All I've seen you people do is terrorize people; mostly me. It doesn't sound like something I want to be a part of." Roxas looked away to avoid the redhead's glare.
Instead of an angry response like Roxas had expected, Axel's eyes seemed to lighten. "Are you kidding, Roxy? You and I used to go on missions together all the time! We had a lot of fun!" He smiled, letting the flames die down a little.
Watching the flames warily, Roxas responded, "…Fun?"
"Yeah! We went to Agrabah, Wonderland, The Pride Lands...don't you remember running around as a lion? That was awesome, man!"
Okay, this guy was definitely insane. Roxas tore his eyes away from the surrounding fire to stare at Axel bewildered, but his glare was softened by Axel's child-like excitement.
"Okay…" Roxas shifted uncomfortably. "Will you let me go now?" His gaze went back to the surrounding fire.
A confused look replaced the excited one on Axel's face. "Really, man? I just told you we're best friends...and you still want to leave?" The idea seemed unfathomable to him.
"No…I believe you. I just…um, have places to be…" He responded awkwardly, still eyeing the flames.
Axel scratched his head. "Well I was…kinda hoping we could talk some more. You know, maybe get some ice cream?"
The sudden friendliness caught Roxas completely off guard. His eyes returned to Axel's, whose own emerald orbs were full of hope. He stared at him for a few seconds before trying to manage a response. "I...um...that's...I kinda have to meet my friends..." was the only thing he could manage. He shifted again.
"But…I'm your friend…" His face darkened, all hopefulness leaving it at once. Looking down, he lowered the flames completely. "I get it, Roxas. You just don't want to talk to me."
Roxas watched with relief as the flames went all the way down. "It's... it's not that!" He replied cautiously, yet sympathetically. "I'm just…kinda confused by all this." He took a few steps back.
"So, let me explain! We can get some ice cream and head to the clock tower. Just like old times, huh?" Axel asked, some light returning to his eyes.
"Old times…" Roxas looked down, trying to make sense of all this. "If you really are my friend, why don't I remember you? Why don't I remember anything! This...none of this makes any sense!" He grabbed his head, frustrated, taking another step back. Why the hell was all this happening to him?
"Now, Roxas, calm down. I just want to talk, okay?" He tried stepping closer to Roxas.
"Stop telling me to calm down!" The blond yelled. "You can't just come up to me and tell me all this! Like – I'm just supposed to accept it?" He was at his breaking point. "Just leave me alone!"
Axel sighed sadly. "Looks like we are going to have to do this the hard way." Raising his arms, the wall of fire returned in a burst of light, heat and sound, surrounding them completely. The fire was much larger than last time, and the heat was overwhelming. His chakrams returned in his hands in a blast of fire, his expression turning into an annoyed one.
Roxas jumped harshly at the erupting flames around him, covering his face with his arms against the burst of heat hitting his face. His anger and turmoil quickly turned to fear as his eyes met Axel's glare.
Axel could clearly see the fear on Roxas' face, and he took another step forward. "I told you I just want to talk. Don't make this difficult." He reminded Roxas, softly.
"You're the one making fire explode out of nowhere!" Roxas yelled back at him, but the fear in his voice was unmistakable. Unfortunately, that only seemed to make Axel bolder. Wide-eyed, he watched as Axel took another step closer to him. Roxas held up his Keyblade defensively once more, his hands shaking in their grip. He backed away as far away as he could until his back was felt like it was being set aflame by the wall of fire behind him.
"Ah!" He yelped, cringing at the pain. "Just…just stay away from me, Axel!" Panic was setting in as he saw Axel continue to come closer.
"See? Went and hurt yourself, didn't you? Come here and let me see how bad it is." Axel was right in front of him, now, and reached out his hand toward the blond.
"No! Get away from me!" He screamed at the taller man towering over him. He squeezed his eyes shut and swung his Keyblade violently in front of him, inadvertently hitting Axel hard across the face. The redhead grunted in pain, grabbing his cheek where he was hit.
Before Roxas could register what happened, a huge fireball was slammed into his chest, sending him flying against the fire wall behind him and crumpling onto the ground. The pain in his chest was disorienting, and he could feel burns on his chest and back stinging him. Gasping for breath, he tried to pull himself off the ground, but only managed to lift his head slightly. His vision was blurred and his head was spinning, but he could hear Axel a few feet away from him cursing.
"Okay, Roxas, you pushed me too far, this time!" His face throbbed from where he was hit, and his temper was at its breaking point. Staring down at his friend, he spun his chakrams in his hands, ready to attack again, when something caused him to pause.
"Uhm. Axel, what's going on?" Came an uninterested voice from outside the ring of fire. Axel paused, and turned to see where the voice originated.
From outside the fire he saw a short blue-grey haired teenager, holding a very large book in his hand. His face had little to no emotion shown on it, and he seemed rather uninterested in the situation. Axel barely glanced at him before turning his attention back on Roxas, crumpled on the ground before him. Roxas sat up further, coughing and gasping for breath, his vision returning to normal.
"Hey, Zexion. Just trying to talk to my buddy Roxas, here. Wanna join?" He asked calmly, opening a portion of the fire wall in front of the teen. "Okay, Roxy, ready to calm down, now?" Axel spun his chakrams in his hands, spinning them so the fire ignited around them, and with a grin, slung them at Roxas.
The blond barely had time to react. Wobbly, he forced himself off the ground and jumped off to the side, barely managing to avoid getting hit. Unable to land, however, he tumbled back onto the ground, falling hard on his side.
Zexion, still on the other side of the opened flames, examined the situation and sighed. "What are you talking about?" He asked while stepping inside the circle of fire. As he did this, the flames closed behind him. Despite the sadistic scene in front of him, hius face remained blank – probably used to this sort of thing from Axel.
"Trying to tell Roxas here that we're friends and he's part of the Organization." The redhead explained as he caught the chakrams when they returned to him. "Need a hand there, Roxy?" He asked, walking over.
Roxas looked up and saw Axel all too close again, and reacted. "Get...get the fuck away from me!" He yelped, jumping back away from him and falling onto his back. He winced at the pain of his burns contacting with the rough alley ground. Axel simply chuckled at the pitiful reaction. "Tsk tsk, Roxy. Such language from a kid like you."
"You're convincing him…by attacking him?" The emo teen asked from the edge of the circle.
"What can I say, Zexion, the kid pushed me a little too far." He answered, keeping his eyes on Roxas. He watched with an amused look on his face as the blond struggled to push himself back up onto his side.
"Stop calling…me a kid!" Roxas spat at him, forcing himself off the ground and launching at the redhead. He swung his Keyblade at Axel, who lazily blocked the attack, and returned the blow with his chakrams, slashing his back, leaving large gashes on his already burned skin. Before Roxas had a chance to react, another chakram slammed against his front, forcing him to fly back.
"It looks like you're doing a terrible job of convincing him to return with us." Zexion observed blandly. "Perhaps you weren't as good of friends as you believed?"
"Hah! Are you kidding me, Zex? The kid loves me!" Axel laughed as Roxas fell to the ground. This was all too entertaining for him.
The blond tumbled onto the rough alley ground, but managed to catch himself before crashing down on his back again, and landed on one knee. Gritting his teeth, he cringed against the pain now flooding him, trying desperately not to give Axel the satisfaction of seeing his discomfort.
"Are you sure about that, Axel?" The emo teen asked, unconvinced, watching the blond child glare hatefully at Axel.
"Ha! Who wouldn't love a guy like me?" Axel said, spinning his chakram in his hand playfully. His crystal green eyes stayed on Roxas, seeing every bit of pain the child tried to conceal, only enticing him more. "Come on, Roxy, you can do waaay better than this!" His response was a hate filled glare out of the blond.
"…I don't love you." Zexion murmured, turning his attention to his large book. With a sigh, he opened it and began casually flipping through its pages.
It was then that Roxas tore his eyes away from the redhead over to the teen at the edge of the circle. Although he wasn't particularly menacing looking, he was wearing the same black cloak as Axel. Obviously not someone that came to help Roxas out. "This guy…part of your 'organization?'" He managed.
"Hey, kid! That's Zexion." He said, pointing a thumb in the teen's direction. "He's a buddy of mine, too." With another smirk, he flicked another fireball at Roxas. "Wanna get back to our little talk?"
Dragging himself off of his knee, Roxas jumped to the side, barely dodging the blow. "You have already told me enough! I don't want anything to do with you, or your 'organization!'" He yelled harshly, positioning his Keyblade in front of himself defensively.
"Roxy, baby, come on." Axel sneered, holding his chakrams in position for another attack. "Either talk to me…or we fight."
"Then I guess we fight." Roxas said boldly, his determination to fight building back up. He couldn't let this psychopath beat him.
This newfound boldness didn't go unnoticed by Axel. He grinned evilly at Roxas, enticed by the challenge. "Bring it on, kid!" He hollered, raising his chakrams and spinning them in his hands, making the fire grow hotter and brighter.
Axel then lunged forward, slashing his chakrams at Roxas ruthlessly. Unable to react in time, his shoulder was slashed into by Axel's chakram, creating a deep gash and burning the skin. Roxas, wincing, rebounded from the blow and attacked back, managing a hard blow, bashing into his chest and sending him back several feet.
Zexion pulled his eyes away from his book to observe the fight in front of him. "Can you hurry this up, Axel? I was sent to retrieve you."
"Retrieve me?" The redhead asked, grabbing chest, panting. "Ha. You just came because you missed me." He grinned, still eyes locked on Roxas. The blond glared at him in return, holding his injured shoulder which had blood sinking into his sleeve and onto his hand.
"That's not it, Axel. I was ordered to bring you back – with or without Roxas." Zexion explained emotionlessly.
Roxas lunged forward again, attacking Axel furiously and landing a hard blow on the redhead's chest. Instead of being thrown back, however, Axel grabbed the end of the Keyblade and yanked it toward him, pulling Roxas along with it. Before Roxas had a chance to pull away, he felt his collar grabbed and pulled forward, forcing him to be face to face with the taller man. Axel smiled sadistically.
"You seriously thought you could beat me Roxas?" He asked darkly, pulling the younger boy closer. "As if."
Roxas, staring him wide-eyed, clawed at Axels arm restraining him with one hand, and swung his Keyblade with the other. "Ah!" He screamed, desperately struggling to be free. "LET ME GO!"He could feel panic filling him as Axel's iron grip wouldn't loosen.
"Axel…" Zexion said, irritated. This little fight was getting out of hand.
"Well, you seem awfully excited to see me fight Roxas to just be 'retrieving me,' Zexion." Axel said, responding to Zexion's earlier comment. With his free hand, he grabbed the end of Roxas' Keyblade and ripped it out of his hand, throwing it several feet away from them.
Zexion sighed. "Whatever you say, Axel. Just hurry up. Demyx will start wondering where I am soon." The teen looked back down at the contents of his book.
Roxas, now using both hands to claw at Axel's arm, glared hatefully up at the redhead who was only a few inches away. Axel could clearly see the fear in Roxas' eyes, and that only made him all the more powerful. The boy was weaker than him, and they both knew it. Lifting his free hand, he summoned a huge fireball and held it close to the blond. The heat from the fire singed Roxas' face, and he winced.
"Demyx can live without his little Zexy-kins for a while longer." He said, choking Roxas up slightly before throwing him to the ground. "What's better than seeing me in action?"
Roxas, cringing at the fall, looked up wide-eyed to see the redhead towering over him with the huge ball of fire. "AXEL!" He screamed desperately, covering his face with his arms. "Stop!" Squeezing his eyes shut in fear, he tensed, anticipating the blow of the fireball. Did this guy really plan on killing him?
"Zexy-kins?" Zexion asked, raining an eyebrow.
"Zex, can I fight in peace, please?" Axel asked, turning his head to glare at the teen. His response was a blank stare from Zexion.
Roxas, still on the ground, tore his eyes away from redhead for a moment to look over to his fallen Keyblade several feet away. Quickly, he took advantage of Axel's momentary distraction and summoned his Keyblade into his hand. Once he had his weapon, he swiftly jumped out from underneath the older man, jumping a few feet away and creating the much desired distance between them.
"Hey, Roxas," Axes said, turning back around to see the newly armed blond now on the other end of the circle of fire. Dissipating the fireball in his hands, he summoned his chakrams again. "Did I say you could get up?"
"Just shut up!" Roxas yelled at him, charging at him again. Axel mirrored the attack, slinging his flaming weapons at him viciously. They attacked in a flurry of quick and vicious movements, each landing several minor blows on each other. After a moment, Axel was sent flying by a powerful blow to the side. He crashed onto his back, getting the wind knocked out of him and dropping his chakrams.
Roxas watched as the redhead toppled to the ground, and dropped to one knee in exhaustion. This battle needed to end soon; he couldn't keep this up for much longer…
Zexion sighed once again. "Do you need help, Axel?" As he said this, the redhead pulled himself up off the ground with difficulty, grabbing his side where he was hit, wincing. Turning his eyes up to glare at Roxas, he smirked.
"Me? Help fighting a kid?" He scoffed, straightening up slightly. "No thanks, Zex. You just want to get back to Demyx." His green eyes turned deadly as they eyed the blond.
Roxas was shocked at how fast he was able to recover from the blow. This was bad… He had attacked this guy with everything he had, and he still recovered so quickly. And worse, he only seemed to piss him off even more.
"That's not it, Axel. I'm here on orders. We don't have an unlimited amount of time to do this. So either hurry up, or I'll make you hurry up." Zexion said bluntly, his voice not betraying the irritation the words suggested, though the threat was clear.
Axel, straightening up all the way, simply grinned. "Since when…have I ever cared about ORDERS?" He yelled, raising his arms and summoning his chakrams in an explosion of fire bigger any other before. As he did this, the fire in the circle around them erupted, growing even larger and hotter. Gripping onto his chakrams, he lunged forward, launching a flurry of ruthless attacks at the blond.
Roxas barely had a chance to react to the onslaught, desperately trying to block against each
relentless attack on him. With each attack from Axel, he was pushed further and further back toward the wall of fire behind him. He could feel the heat from the fire beginning to singe the already damaged skin on his back with every blow. It took everything he had to stop himself from being pushed into the fire behind him.
"Roxas…you've gotten weak." Zexion commented, sounding rather disappointed. "Axel…If you need help-"
"FINE!" Axel yelled, crashing another blow at Roxas before he was almost completely against the fire. "Help if you want, just shut up!"
The redhead stood all too close to Roxas again, cornering him against the wall of fire. Roxas, holding out his Keyblade defensively in front of him, trying to keep the distance between them. His back was burning from the heat of the fire, but he didn't dare take a step closer to the crazed redhead directly in front of him. Panting from the recent onslaught of attacks on him, he desperately tried to think of a way to escape. He could feel panic overwhelming him, his bruised arms shaking from a mix of fear and fatigue.
Noticing the fear in the Roxas' eyes, Axel spun his chakrams again in his hands, his green eyes deadly. "You should have just agreed to the ice cream, Roxy." Axel said with a morbid grin.
Before Roxas had a chance to react, a sudden blast of light and pain attacked him all at once. Screaming, he squeezed his eyes and covered his head in an attempt to block the sudden blast of pain. Blinding light surrounded him; the stabbing pain attacked him from all angles. He could feel his body weaken with every passing second, his legs beginning to collapse underneath him. All he could do was scream, and hope it would end…
Zexion, finally ending the spell, lowered his raised arm that was outstretched toward Roxas. He watched as the light that was surrounding the blond disappeared, and closed his book with a sigh.
Roxas collapsed onto the ground, slamming his head hard into the alley pavement. The fire spell lasted for only a few seconds, but it was enough to end the battle before Axel really did kill the boy.
Roxas, crumpled on the ground, coughed violently in a desperate attempt to breathe. His body was numb from the attack, and blood was dripping down from his head where he collided with the pavement. He couldn't comprehend what just happened, or what just caused him such horrible damage, but he could feel his head spinning ferociously and his body wasn't cooperating with him. He tried to lift himself, but all his limbs felt abnormally heavy.
With blurred vision, he looked over next to him where his Keyblade had fallen; only about a foot away from him. Without thinking, he tried and reached out his shaky arm for it. But his arm only moved slightly for it when the blade was kicked away from him, being replaced by two black boots a second later. With another violent cough, he looked up to see the redhead standing over him.
"Now, Roxy, is there anything you wanna say to your best friend?" Axel asked sadistically. Roxas coughed again, blood exiting his mouth. He struggled desperately to get away from the redhead standing next to him, but his body wouldn't let him do more than lift his head.
"Get…get away…from-" Roxas choked, before falling into another violent coughing fit. He could taste the metallic blood filling his mouth with each wheeze.
"No, Roxas. I'm afraid that's the wrong answer." With his chakram, he knelt down next to Roxas and smashed his weapon into the back of the blonde's head with severe force, causing it to collide with the pavement once again. He watched as Roxas stopped moving, crumpled on the ground, new blood seeping out onto the pavement around his head. The boy moaned pitifully and tried to move, but he was extremely disoriented from the impact, and his head spun violently. Numbness took over his body, and his head felt lighter than usual.
"You're coming with us to The Castle That Never Was..." Axel said while banishing his chakrams in a puff of fire. He then bent down and flipped Roxas onto his back before slipping his arms under his knees and neck. The blond moaned and cringed as the redhead lifted him up and held him against his chest. "…back to the Organization." As he said this, the ring of fire surrounding them all dissipated.
"You ready?" Zexion asked, opening a darkness portal a few feet away from them. Axel turned and nodded his head at the shorter man, before walking toward the portal.
"Uhhhn…." Roxas struggled with the little strength he had left. "Let…let go…f…me..." He slurred, unable to fight back in any way. The spinning of his head grew in intensity until the world around him became unrecognizable, fading into darkness. With his last bit of strength, he tried desperately to struggle against the redhead holding him, until everything around him slipped into blackness.
Zexion stood next to the portal in front of him, waiting for Axel to walk through with the unconscious boy before entering through himself.
Walking out of the other end of the portal, Axel looked down at the battered blond in his arms and sighed sadly. Stepping over to one of the large couches in the room they had just entered, Axel gently placed him down on the cushions, the blood dripping down from his back staining the white surface.
"Poor kid…" The redhead said, all previous traces of anger and contempt gone from his voice. His face held a grimace instead of the sadistic smile it once had.
"He doesn't remember us, right?" Zexion asked, walking up from behind him. "Or anything about the Organization?" He stood directly in front of Roxas on the couch and opened his book again, flipping though its pages searching for a particular spell.
"Yeah...poor kid doesn't remember a thing." Axel replied, scratching his head. He could see the blood sinking down the cushions of the couch, dripping onto the floor. Roxas' head was bleeding heavily, and he had burns all over his body.
Zexion, finding the page he was looking for, lifted his free arm toward Roxas, and a soft, green light surrounded the battered boy's body. Immediately, the open gashes all over the blond's body began to close and heal, the burns slowly disappearing. "Do you know why?" He asked, concentrating on the spell.
"Nope." Axel responded, shaking his head. "I just tried to talk to him and the kid spazzed. You'd think I was trying to kill him or something." Axel crossed his arms, eyes remaining on the unconscious blond.
"…You were." The teen commented, raising an eyebrow.
"Well...uh..." Axel scratched his head again and laughed awkwardly. "He knows how to push the wrong buttons, ya know? He just went too far and I snapped…" His voice died away at the end.
Rolling his eyes at the comment, Zexion ended the cure spell and stepped away from Roxas. "You need to learn to control your temper." He said scornfully. "I've healed most of his wounds. The reason he's still asleep is fatigue. He should wake up in a few hours."
"Thanks, Zex." Axel said, walking in front of Roxas and kneeling down. The wounds he had were indeed mostly healed. "Hey, kid, I still need to talk to you…" He said half heartedly, reaching out an arm to ruffle his hair. He stopped however, when he saw the blood still on his black gloves and on his arms. Pulling his arm back, he paused, and stared at his bloody hand with a sad look. The blood belonged to Roxas, and he took in the fact that he was the one to damage him so badly. His 'best friend.'
"What do you plan to do with him?" Zexion asked.
"Well…until Xemnas wants to see him," He grimaced at the name. "Try to get him to remember. He's...he's my best friend. I need him..." He watched Roxas sleep in front of him with a sad look on his face. At least the boy looked peaceful now.
"I see." Zexion paused, examining the scene, before turning. "I'll go give our report, then." Walking away, he mumbled under his breath, "...and I guess see Demyx..."
Axel pulled himself up again and sat down next to Roxas on the couch, careful not to wake him. "I'll... wait here for him to wake up." He answered quietly, eyes still on the sleeping blond next to him. "See you…Zex."