I was running out of inspiration around the end, so the last little bit of it sucks. I hope it's enjoyed, anyway!
Happy AkuRoku day!
The light was bright, incredibly and harshly bright. "What's going on?" the male shielded his eyes against the rays of the sun, glowing fiercely directly above him. Realizing he was laying on his back, the boy sat up, looking at the oddly familiar surroundings.
"What happened? Where am- Roxas!" the smiled of the blonde boy burned into his mind, his laugh sending shivers down his body from the abrupt memory. He clutched at the memory and himself in desperation, greens eyes wildly shifting around as he tried to make sense of what was going on, trying to find his blue-eyed friend in the surroundings.
A shock of pain hit him, echoing through his head at a vigorous rate. He pressed his palms into his temples with his fingers over his ears, as if he was trying to pressurize it into nothing. 'No one would miss me,' rang through his ears, a single sentence that was making his heart break. Despite his eyes being closed, he was seeing far too much at once; good memories, bad memories, memories that didn't matter that much. "Roxas..." he was brought to one knee.
Just as he began to bear it, regaining control of his mind flooded with memories of Organization XIII, a different snare coiled around his mind tightly.
Xion.
The redhead screamed in the most shrill voice he had ever emitted, streaks of lightning hitting his brain mercilessly. He remembered what was missing; the hooded figure in front of thirteen thrones, a second keyblade wielder slicing up shadow blobs beside him and Roxas, a smiling, raven-headed girl laughing at a joke he made on top of the clocktower. And possibly his most heart wrenching memory of her, having to duel his own friend in the same place where he had attacked Vexen before.
His eyes opened a crack, squinting, and he realized he was laying on the ground, the torture ripping and rumbling through his whole body, a mental storm. Several minutes later, it began to subside, allowing him to take in air properly again. He reached for the nearby side of a building, using it to help himself get up.
"Axel! Hey, Axel!" his head lifted at the sound of his own name, still leaning against the wall, almost upright. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he could see a glint of blue eyes, sending a yearning for his friends- Roxas and Xion- right to his heart. He panted, still trying to catch his breath from the previous mental attack, dismayed when he realized the voice and rapidly approaching body belonged to Sora.
Not far behind the hero was his friend Riku, who he couldn't tell was chasing after his friend, or also towards him. They slowed as the got near, giving him a few feet of space. "Sora," Riku began, chuckling a little. "He's not Axel anymore, remember?" the silver-haired male looked at the redheaded companion. "What was your name? You know, now, and before you were a Nobody?"
Green eyes looked down at the hand that wasn't supporting him. 'I'm not a nobody anymore? I'm-' "Lea?" His companions didn't seen to notice that he spoke his own name as more of a new question than an answer to theirs.
"Alright then, Lea," Riku spoke, offering the redhead a smile. "Come with us; we need to explain a few things to you." Simultaneously, as if practised, both keyblade masters extended their hands, offering both in friendship, and to support him, as he was still slightly out of breath and leaning on the wall. Finding the decision posed on him awkward- take one hand or the other- he nodded to them in thanks and understanding, pushing himself up. They both took their hands away, and as the third male joined them, they turned and began to walk in the direction from which they came.
The trio walked, first in silence for a minute or two, Riku and Sora went a content aura, and Lea feeling (and looking) very confused. Finally, after the other two made no move to even begin speaking, he questioned, "What's going on?"
"Well, in a nutshell, there were people tied to Sora's heart that shouldn't have been there. This is was first how Sora got the keyblade-" the brunette nodded in confirmation, "-but as everything occurred, more people did. You were one of them; because Roxas is in him, and you had such strong ties to Roxas, you were, too."
Sora took up where his friend left off, "King Mickey sent us a letter telling us that the people connected to my heart were suffering, and that it needed to be stopped. You got returned to your original body," he flashed Lea his trademark happy-but-cheesy smile. "We just weren't sure where you'd return... It took us a while, but we were able to track and find you."
Silence settled in again, and the other boys, more mature than they had been since Axel/Lea had seen them, let the quiet stay so this information could sink in. Lea, unsure, put his hand over the left side of his chest, just above his breast; sure enough, the soft beats underneath pressed up to greet his hand, a moving celebration of his renewed whole self and emotions. His next question that came to mind he directed more or less at Sora, and asked it slowly: "Where... Where's Roxas now?"
He felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up to find Riku's sympathetic eyes, as if the two has been friends as long as Riku and Sora had. "Sorry to say, but because Sora exists, Roxas is still inside of him," they stopped walking as the Gummiship neared.
"I thought you said that everyone's suffering ended? How is Roxas better?"
"Me and him now both have all his memories, all of the ones from in the Organization," Sora looked at him, "And I think he fully came to accept that he has to be inside of me."
There was a slight pause. "Oh."
Sora and Riku, sensing the ensuing awkwardness of the moment, continued their purpose along. "See you guys later," Riku smiled, stepping into a Dark Corridor without explaining where he was going, or why. It did leave Lea rather confused as to why he'd do that- he was a nice person- but more than that, made the redhead wonder if he could still use dark corridors for travel.
"Come on," Sora motioned to Lea that he should follow, "We're gonna meet up with Riku in a bit, by ship," the brunette approached the few steps that were left to the Gummiship, though his companion spoke before he was able to enter.
"I looks a little cramped in there," the ex-Nobody mumbled, his green eyes staring straight at it.
"It's not, trust me," Sora smiled, getting inside while leaving it open. Knowing that was his signal to follow, Lea sighed inwardly, but followed the hero. Going inside, he told himself to stop being so bitchy and cynical- wasn't like him very much- but he couldn't. The only thing he could do with a clear mind was think about Roxas and Xion... Especially Roxas. As they both settled, there was a string of light tension between the two. "Hey, Axe- Lea?" the keyblade wielder started. The ship began to ascend into the air.
"Yeah?" the redheaded companion asked, leaning back, and beginning to sound a lot more like the casual person he used to be.
On the other hand, Sora sounded a lot more serious than usual. "Well, ever since I got Roxas's memories, I've been able to see the relationship you two had. And you saved me that one time; for a long time, I thought because Nobodies had no hearts, they had no feelings," the flight's speed accelerated. "Even after you saved me and spoke about Roxas like that, I thought it. But Roxas had strong feelings for you and Xion, and I can tell you guys had strong feelings for them and each other. What I mean is, sorry for doubting your sacrifice for so long," the blue-eyed teenager had turned around to look at him as he spoke the last part.
Lea blinked once, staring at the boy before him with his eyes half-lidded. A light chuckle escaped from his lips, before his eyes screwed shut and every wall of the ship echoed his loud laughter off of it. Sora turned back to being attentive to piloting the ship- it'd be dangerous to do otherwise for much longer- but opened his mouth to ask what was so funny. Before he got the chance to, Lea replied, "Don't be sorry, stupid. If you had never brought it up, I wouldn't know you felt that way."
"I still felt the need to say sorry, and I'm also going to try to make it up to you," indeed, Sora genuinely felt bad for what happened. Especially since all Axel had wanted was to see Roxas again, and he had been the barrier for that.
A chuckle was his reply, "Don't bother, I'm not bugged by it," the tension in Lea's eyes faded, and his breathing began to slow. Only minutes later was it also heavier. The entire ship seemed quiet, Sora realizing the recently-revived teenager was sleeping, until the snoring began. He laughed at the first piggish sound, continuing to steer the ship.
The green eyes opened to more light. "This again?" he grumbled, before realizing that he was inside a building this time, and being shaken awake by the same person that brought him there.
Sora began to laugh a little, "You snore a lot, Lea," after successfully waking the male up, he took one hand immediately, helping the redhead into a standing position.
"I do not!" Lea protested, crossing his arms as he gained his balance. There was, however, a hint of laughter in his voice, and a sparkle in his eye, that told the brunette that he was more or less just playing around. Sora stepped back when his companion spontaneously had a massive yawn that seemed to come from nowhere. "Where are we, by the way?"
Before the blue-eyed hero got the chance to respond, Riku made his reappearance clear by stating, "Took you both long enough," as he emerged from another room. He crossed his arms in a manner similar to how Lea would, and continued, "Everything's ready to go, Sora," without giving any hint as to what it was to their confused, barely awake acquaintance. "We're just waiting on you."
"Sure thing!" Sora finally let go of Lea's hand, breaking into a slow run as Riku turned around, going back to the room he came from.
"Hey, wait up!" Lea followed in a rush. "What's going on!" Entering the room adjacent, he came to a fast halt, looking around. The room itself wasn't very big, but had a large device in the center. Stepping over to it, the redhead looked at the raised platform, large wires connecting it to a small, body-sized chamber beside it. "What's going on...?" he repeated again, this time slower, caught off-guard.
"Oh, so you're the ex-Organization VII member. Good to see you're doing well," everyone turned at the voice, Sora saluting the figure.
"King Mickey!" for Lea, this was getting weirder and weirder.
"Be careful with the machine!" to make it even more complicated for the redhead, the mouse walked past them with a wave, before leaving to do matters elsewhere.
Lea turned to Sora, putting at least one piece of the puzzle together in his mind. "No, really, what's going on? And why are we in the castle?" at this point, he was a little frustrated.
"Calm down a little," Sora requested of him with a smile, which was rewarded with the ex-organization member's shoulders becoming a little less tense. "I told you I wanted to make it up to you-" the brunette continued what he was saying before Lea had a chance to intervene or protest, "-so I'm going to." The hero walked over to the chamber, and without any hesitation, climbed into it. Riku drifted over to his friend, shutting the case as if this was something the two of them did everyday.
The silver-haired male walked over to a control panel that Lea previously hadn't noticed, focussing his attention on it fully. After a minute of nothing happening, the redhead finally asked, "Is this safe?" only to be ignored. Tired of waiting, he sat down, closing his green eyes as he prepared for a short nap- again.
"There, it's done," Lea got up a minute later, and though had no indication about what was going to happen, stood up anyway.
A light fizzing sound echoed through the room. "Axel?" Lea heard the voice before he saw the one speaking it. In a shocked daze, he numbly started up at the platform, seeing a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed nobody staring down at him. "Axel, is that really you?"
The redhead's mouth opened dumbly, the bottom lip twitching as if he was trying to form words. "R.. R-Roxas?" his eyes were peeled widely open, nearly bugging out. "...Roxas?" his voice slowly came to life, dashing over to the edge of the platform. "You're alive?" Sora's Nobody knelt down to be more level with his friend.
Roxas was rubbing his fingers together. "I'm... Not sure what I am," he replied honestly, just as confused as Lea. The duo looked over to Riku simultaneously, hoping he would have the answer, but the antihero didn't even seem to see them. "But it's good to see you," Roxas smiled, looking at his old friend again.
"Yeah..." Lea agreed in a breath, looking Roxas over. "Listen, Roxas, I'm sorry about everything that I put you through in the organization. I have no idea why I did it."
"It's fine," Roxas smiled again, brighter than before.
"I didn't think I'd get to see you again."
There was a low, but lighthearted chuckle. "Me too."
Lea looked down a little. "I'm still really sorry about it. And there's something I need to confess," the redhead took a breath, his stomach lurching slightly. He was, however, not very put off by it; Axel or Lea, he was generally a fairly confident person. "I love you, Roxas."
Inevitable shock met Roxas's face, mimicking Lea's earlier expression. Eventually, his eyelids settled and his jaw rose, lips tugging themselves into a heartfelt glow of a smile. "I love you too, Axel," the taller of the two didn't correct his companion; he preferred 'Axel' to 'Lea,' it was who he was more comfortable being now. The blonde reached out with both of his hands, obviously intending to hold his lover's. Axel rose them so he could more easily. Roxas's fingers went right through his, distorting with a fizz.
Their eyes met after gazing at the physical disconnection they had, Roxas no longer smiling. Lea hid the twinge of sorrow in the back of his heart and not being able to hold him. "It's fine. It only matters that you're here now," his words restored a grin back to the Nobody's face.
"I think I'm a hologram."
"It's fine. I still love you."
"Sorry, I think this was the wrong time to intrude..." the two boys looked over in the direction they heard the female voice from.
A hand waved from a different corner of the platform. "Xion!" came their synchronized cries of both surprise and joy. The blonde ran across the platform to their friend, Lea instead opting to run around it, as he had no idea if it was safe to be on the platform.
"Sorry, I hoped I wouldn't interrupt the moment."
"It's fine," Lea repeated for the second time in the last minute. "It's good to see you, though..." he glanced over her, as if trying to affirm that what he was seeing was real.
"It's good to see you, too. Both of you."
Riku looked up, interrupting something that Roxas was about to add. "Sorry guys, Sora has a tight schedule. You need to say your goodbyes," he didn't sound any happier about it than the reunited trio was, especially since Xion had just arrived.
Turning their heads away from the silver-haired male, the old group looked at one-another. "So then..." Roxas started. "What does this mean?"
Xion looked down. "I guess... We go back into Sora again. Unless he does this again, we're stuck in his heart for good. We're just other parts of Sora..." unlike before, when the replica had stated returning to Sora was the best and where she belonged, she sounded sad. "I think we can see each other, but not Axel," she looked at Lea.
The redhead, instead, chuckled. "I'm going to love Roxas, and wait until the next time the three of us can all see one another, if that's at all possible." The other two minorly brightened at his confidence. "See ya later, guys."
"Bye Axel!" Xion waved again, this time less slowly. Riku started working the machine he was standing at again.
"Goodbye Axel, I love you," before Lea got a chance to respond to the blonde boy, their figures fizzed and disappeared from existence. The green-eyed boy bit his lip to stop the lone tear pricking at his left eye. The chamber on the other side of the platform steamed lightly, releasing the teenage keyblade wielder it held within.
Lea stood, staring at where the hologram of Roxas used to be, soft steps approaching him without his notice. Turning his head as they drew near, Sora smiled his usual smile at him and spoke, "I hope it was worth it."