Just a little creepy drabble. The end's a little off, if I do say so myself. Still, the world needs more bastard!Axel.
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Roxas can defy gravity. This doesn't bother him, because he doesn't remember gravity, or the story of Icarus, or a mother's soft hands bandaging scrapes. Instead, he runs up buildings and falls forty feet to earth without a scratch.
Axel watches him with a smirk, as Roxas scales Memory's Skyscraper and that pale boy evades him by falling gracelessly. He could save Roxas, he supposes, but he'll win today anyway, so he won't understand. And even though Axel is very fond of number XIII, there are greater forces at work here than he is willing to meddle with.
Of course Roxas deafeats his blind opponent with that same quiet, deliberate grace that sets him apart from every other one of his dozen compatriots. Axel shakes his head and leaves. Roxas is no longer his comrade, and so he does not need to track him down and thrown an easy arm around the boy's shoulders; Roxas is not yet a liability, so Axel will savor these rare moments of watching without intent to kill.
The Superior had been angry when Roxas left to find himself, and Axel had been angry that Roxas had left, and Roxas was angry with everyone. Of course, none of them were truly angry, but not even Xemnas could resist the lure of pretending. It had been his idea to give Roxas free reign, to have him do as he wished. Each member had watched Roxas carefully, with their own designs, but he had slipped through every trap they set.
It took Axel a great deal of observation before he figured out exactly where things went wrong, but he thinks he's right and, though no one likes to admit it, he usually is. Roxas is different; he doesn't remember what it's like to be human and earthbound. Yes, all of them can float, but Roxas flies.
Axel isn't in awe of this, no, because even Roxas has to land sometime. Axel can wait, not like an animal, because animals aren't so vindictive and cold, and Axel will strike. He can't win, he knows, but he doesn't have to. He only has to clip those wings and throw Roxas in a cage and bring him back for good. It will be quick and clean; Nobodies don't bleed so much as they disintegrate. That's good.
Axel hates a mess.