The man stood in an empty hallway, his mind focused on a million things at once, his facial expression troubled. He felt like his heart could split in two- if he had one, that was. The cruel fate of being a nobody, an embodiment of darkness that's born from an empty shell of a body, which is exactly what they were. Empty shells. Nobodies weren't meant to feel emotion. So why did he ache so much?
He shook it away. Feelings weren't worth having anyway. Feelings distracted people from their goals. What was his goal? Simply, he didn't have one. Sure, the main goal of Organization XIII was to regain Kingdom Hearts for themselves, to allow them to fully regain hearts, make them whole, to have feelings, but he wasn't a dedicated zombie like everybody else. Following that goal got many other members of the Organization killed. Castle Oblivion was a deathtrap in itself; their main plans for that place failed anyway.
Vexen was killed at the hands of the redhead; nobody liked a traitor. Plus, he wasn't even useful, just took up space. Lexaeus was ridden by Riku; both him, Vexen and Zexion tried to manipulate the silver haired teen, which ultimately destroyed all of them. Even the redhead didn't dare to touch that guy. He was a short fuse; the darkness had gotten him at one point, he could sense it, hovering around, just waiting for a precise moment to strike. It wasn't suspicious at all that he'd disappeared when Roxas had.
Larxene was next- the pissed-off brunette took care of her. That was fun to watch. He had liked Sora.
Marluxia met his demise in Castle Oblivion too. Again, the great 'Keyblade Master' was the cause.
The last member to go was Xion. Axel could barely remember her anymore. Soon,she'd be wiped from existence. What a pity. She really did mean a lot to Roxas. And him.
Yet, through everything, his mind still focused on the blonde that, if he had a heart, would've taken it wholly. Roxas. His Roxas. He couldn't get his hopes up about those feelings being reciprocated- nobodies are nobodies. Nothing less, nothing more. What was the point of having a goal when you're not meant to exist? The last time he'd seen him, the boy had ran away, tried to set Kingdom Hearts free, consumed with despair over their best friend, one which had quite literally disappeared in his arms.
Axel gritted his teeth, glaring at the blonde. "You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!" He needed to make Roxas stay. He knew, if he left, this would probably be the last time he saw the boy he had come to care for, deeply. Roxas stilled, his back still to Axel. Turning his head to the side, he closed his eyes.
"No one would miss me."
That sentence alone broke Axel's non-existent heart.
"That's not true!" He shouted, watching Roxas walk away, ignoring his plea. When he'd gotten out of earshot, Axel whispered dejectedly, his head cast downwards, a half-hearted confession to himself. "... I would."
From the information he'd gathered, Roxas had been put in a virtual twilight town, and there was a high chance his memories had been erased. His suspicions were on DiZ; an elaborate plan to get Roxas back to Sora. Which means he'd never see him again.
As if he was going to let that happen.
Axel outstretched his arm and summoned a portal into view, staring into the purple and black abyss, biting his chapped lip. Roxas might have no clue who he was. He could be a completely different person. The man he loved could have no recollection of their bond.
Before he could rethink his choice, he stepped through, transporting himself to the virtual town where his love waited, a heavy weight in his chest.
After all, it was his orders.
When he came though the portal, he staggered slightly, marveling at the realistic view of the world which was completely virtual, right down to the buildings and the sun blaring down on them. He'd appeared in an alley somewhere in virtual Twilight Town; by the sounds of a commotion going on, Roxas was nearby. He followed the noise, emerging in a small plaza, the familiar blonde stood in the middle, fighting off some dusks that had seemingly appeared. Everyone around the plaza was frozen in place, various expressions plastered on their faces from what must have been a struggle tournament in the plaza. Obviously DiZ's creation wasn't completely perfect, if anomalies like this were happening.
Roxas' organization coat was ridden, replaced by some light brown trousers, becoming dark brown near the top; a black halter-like top covered by a cream checkered hoodie. A checkered band fit his right wrist, with two rings sporting his fingers- one black, one white. Large black and red shoes covered his feet, while a charm, quite similar to Sora's, sat around his neck, though instead of a crown it was a curved cross, almost like a bizarre weapon. Axel pulled up his over-sized hood, clouding his appearance, watching as the boy panted from the aftermath of his fight. The blonde stood up straight, scanning the area next to him, only to let out a sigh of relief when he saw they were gone.
He began clapping, alerting Roxas' gaze, his breath catching in his throat when dazzling blue eyes locked with his in confusion, which soon turned to a glare. The blonde didn't move or say anything, however. Very unlike him, he seemed to be analyzing the situation instead of rushing headfirst into aggression.
"Roxas. All right. Fight, fight, fight." Axel grinned, ceasing the clapping as he began to walk closer. Roxas' face showed no recognition as the still-glaring blue orbs connected with green. So much for Axel's happy ever after plan.
"You really don't remember?" His boots clashed with the ground as he walked, the only sound in the deep silence. "It's me. You know, Axel." The redhead pulled back his hood, bright red spikes springing free.
"Axel?" Yet again, the redhead was met with confusion. Roxas' keyblade still lingered in the air, slightly moving as the blonde stood, panting from the aftermath of his fight.
"Talk about blank with a capital 'B.' Man oh man, even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one." Axel summoned his chakrams, bursts of fire coating the edges as they came into being. Roxas stilled, eyes narrowing as he gripped his keyblade tighter, ready for any confrontation that might come his way.
"Wait a sec. Tell me what's going on!" The blonde demanded- as stubborn as ever. Axel chuckled. He'd missed this.
"This town is his creation, right?" He stepped forward, glancing around at his surroundings, motioning around him with his hand, the chakram leaving behind embers as it moved. "Which means we don't have time for a Q & A. You're coming with me, conscious or not." He really hoped he didn't have to resort to not. "Then you'll hear the story."
Almost the moment the word left his lips, a strange wisp of air appeared behind Roxas. It didn't take long for Axel to realize this was the program's way of saying he wasn't meant to be there, and that meant at any minute DiZ would show up. The panic began to rise in his throat as he realized how little a chance there was that this may work.
"Uh-oh."
Surprising Axel, Roxas groaned, gritting his teeth together. He threw his Keyblade to the ground, the metal clanging against concrete as it fell.
"What's going ON?!" The desperation in his eyes overtook any anger that may have resided there. The Keyblade reappeared in his hand, causing the blonde to frustrate further, his hair fluttering backwards slightly from the sudden transportation of the weapon.
"Number thirteen. Roxas. The Keyblade's chosen one." My love.
He crouched ever so slightly, twirling his chakrams around, a signal he was ready to fight. He had to. There was no time. He either took him by force, now, or risk losing Roxas forever.
The boy opposite did the same, adopting his instinctual fighting style, sighing exasperatedly. "Okay, fine! You asked for it!" His eyebrows knotted together as he readied himself to fight; something the redhead realized must have been new to him, and something he'd probably been doing a lot as of late.
Axel grinned, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly. "That's more like it!"
Sure, he didn't want to hurt the boy opposite him, but he sure did love a good fight. Especially when it involved fire.
As Axel began to run towards the boy, ready to illicit a weak attack, Roxas ran backwards, causing the redhead to momentarily still out of surprise. Running away already? His thoughts soon evaporated when the blonde turned to him, jumping into the air with his Keyblade pointed upwards, a yellow streak of light following it as it cut through the air. He jumped backwards, his feet steady; the weapon directed at him missed by a mere inch, almost touching the ends of his spikes. He retaliated by launching both of his weapons, sending them skimming through the air.
Although one of them managed to clash with Roxas' ankle, cutting through fabric and drawing small beads of blood, the effort put into launching the attack left him momentarily vulnerable. Roxas struck, across his stomach to be exact, forcing the hilt of the key into his abdomen, hard. The blonde wasted no time in swinging back his weapon, preparing for another attack, but Axel was faster and stepped backwards before he could bring it down fully, Roxas unable to stop the attack from the force he put into it. He stumbled, his weapon clashing against the concrete.
Axel twirled his chakram, ignoring the stabbing pain in his stomach, his gaze hard. "Come on, Roxas. Just give up."
Roxas snapped his head upwards, a snarl erupting from his throat. "Never."
Chakram clashed with Keyblade, a newfound fury coming from Roxas, endless blocks and attacks coming from the two, neither of them managing to slow the other down quite enough to land an attack. Sensing that this would probably continue until one of them passed out, he didn't want to take the slight risk that it might be him and flung himself backwards, sending a chakram flying to block any attack that may head his way. As soon as he found his footing, Axel held his chakrams out in front of him, letting them dangle amidst flames and tendrils of darkness, his feet lifting off the ground, floating inches from the floor.
"Burn!" Axel yelled, his flame-filled attack launching itself towards Roxas. It wrapped itself around his Keyblade, burning his arms as the tendrils spread. He could see the small boy begin to panic, a yell making it's way to his throat as the fire spread around his middle. However, before it could, the flames disappeared, no evidence it ever burnt him left behind. His fire attacks could only last so long.
Roxas launched his Keyblade at Axel, an attempt at replicating his chakram throws; although it didn't cause much harm, it did stun the redhead enough for Roxas to abuse the situation. He relentlessly pummeled Axel; finding any spot he could hit and cause damage. The pain was excruciating; while Keyblade attacks were never pleasant, the added rage mixed in with the consistent attacking was wearing him down, and fast. The more he got hit, the further his rage and frustration grew.
"Don't make me mad..." The sky appeared to darken as he spoke those words; flames began to stem from every pore in his body, orange and yellow bursts of light appeared in a circle, barricading around him, spiked tendrils of darkness circling around his body. As the bursts of light faded and the darkness cleared, Axel was left seemingly on fire. It didn't affect him, obviously; it powered him. Flames licked from his hair, his neck, his lips, his chest, every part of his body became one with the fire, became it's heat source, it's fuel.
He swung his chakrams, the fire-infused weapons twisting as they spun, the blonde superbly dodging the attacks, albeit a couple tinges of fire that managed to attach to him.
"Hey, do I ring any bells yet?" From the hard look and clear silence, it was anything but. Roxas blocked the next incoming chakram; it changed it's course, heading straight for the redhead, sending him flying to the floor, his weapons skidding away from his grasp. Axel coughed after a moments pause; he propped himself up on the heels of his arms, wincing.
"Not bad, Roxas."
Before Axel could say anything else, a flash of light appeared, hundreds of white boxes twisting around a figure, only to disappear, revealing DiZ in all his bundled up glory. He was a tanned man; well, appeared to be. Only his left eye, a brilliant yellow- a signature of possession- and mouth was free, the rest of his head wrapped in a crimson fabric, a black belt entwined around it. He wore a long, black cloak with various brown, yellow and white block-ish, lined designs, a separate red cloak dangling from his shoulders and skimming the floor. A simple, green-grey scarf hugged his neck.
At the sight of DiZ, Axel flung himself upwards, propelling himself by the heels of his hand. Roxas, rather close to him, choked out a 'huh?' in confusion.
"So it was you." Axel snarled, jumping backwards to get a better angle. He span his chakrams, coating them with fire, then released, putting all his force into a devastating, furious attack. They merely bounced off an invisible protective shield around him; a chink of metal vibrated through the air as they hit the barrier, falling to the ground harmlessly. DiZ turned to the blonde, unfazed by the attempted attack.
"Roxas, this man speaks nonsense!" His voice was commanding and deep; his eyes narrowed at Axel. The redhead turned to Roxas, his gaze pleading.
"Roxas, don't let him deceive you!" He motioned outwards with his hand for emphasis; Roxas glanced between the two, his eyes wide. He looked terrified. He was losing him.
"Roxas!"
"Roxas!"
"Roxas!"
"Roxas Roxas Roxas Roxas..."
The world began to stagger; his words, and DiZ's, began to repeat, swarming. He could barely see Roxas grasp at his head in pain before he was pulled forcefully from the program, everything disappearing around him, pulling him further away from the one thing he was working to get.
"No way! It's too soon! You can't seriously get rid of him." Axel's eyes narrowed at Xaldin, the latter sitting in his chair unfazed, like they were having a casual conversation about the weather. It was anything but. He gripped the sides of his own chair slightly; he felt nauseous. He skimmed his options, any way that he could get out of it, but to no avail. He wasn't supposed to have feelings, so how could he feel love so strongly? How could he feel so scared?
"It's an order. Why do you hesitate?" Xaldin droned in his usual monotonous voice, his arms tightly crossed against his chest. Axel scoffed. "You, who has been ruthless towards those who turned their backs on the Organization."
"But it's not like that!" Axel emphasized his words with his arms, exasperated. "He didn't betray us. He CAN'T come back!"
As much as Axel wanted to run off with Roxas into the sunset, without having to deal with Sora, the Organization, or anybody for that matter, the chance of that outcome seemed to hopelessly dwindle by the second.
"If he doesn't return, you know what you must do." One of his lance's floated in the air next to his head, awaiting a target. "Or you will face the consequences."
With barely a tilt of his head, the arrow flew in Axel's direction, wedging itself millimeters from his ear, slicing a small chunk of one of his spikes cleanly off. Axel didn't flinch, his gaze still staring daggers at Xigbar, a silent refusal. No way he'd eliminate Roxas. He... He couldn't.
The lance disappeared into a twinkling of light; in his other hand, he summoned a ball of crackling, electricity-filled light, one which can be used to create Dusks, if need be. The redhead's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. He sat back against the back of the white chair; his eyes downcast.
"So, you'll turn me into a Dusk..." Xaldin's expression didn't waver; even under the hood, he could clearly see the face of a man with no remorse. Axel scoffed. He had no other options. He was well and truly stuck.
What else could he do?
"All right. I'll do it! If that's what you want."
The first thing Axel saw when he stepped through the portal was Roxas; a heavy weight pressing down on his chest as the reminder of what he had to do was brought to the front of his mind. He rubbed the back of his head, unable to look the blonde in the eye.
"Look at what it's come to. I've been given these icky orders to destroy you if you refuse to come back with me."
Roxas stood up straight, narrowing his eyes, seemingly in thought. "We're... best friends, right?" He motioned his hands to the side, a tiny smile working it's way to his face, his eyes filled with desperation.
Axel scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, again. "Sure, but I'm not getting turned into a Dusk for... Wait a sec!" His eyes widened, mouth forming into a large, toothy grin. "You remember now?!"
This could be his chance. Roxas would surely come back with him now- he wouldn't have to eliminate him, be turned into a Dusk, or lose him forever to Sora...
"Y-Yeah..." He stuttered unconvincingly, though Axel didn't take notice. He was just overjoyed to have his Roxas back.
"Great! But, you know, gotta make sure and all." Roxas looked around at the swaying Dusks surrounding him, ones at the redhead's beck and call. He was probably wondering why they hadn't attacked. "So, umm..." Crows chirped in the distance as the blonde looked at him expectantly. "What's our bosses name?"
A long few moments passed before Axel's face crumpled. Only silence came from Roxas, proving that he really didn't remember at all. The redhead looked downwards, his green eyes void of hope. He sighed sadly.
"Can't believe this..."
Roxas looked down at the sudden appearance of a stick in his hand; with a flash of light, it became his Keyblade. Axel bit his lip. This was it. He was going to have to destroy Roxas. Or let Roxas destroy him. The face of the boy in front of him, scowling, ready to fight him; that wasn't Roxas. Not anymore. He looked up, a last silent plea. If the blonde suddenly remembered him, he didn't show it. Axel summoned his chakrams, twisting them around in his hands, the tips of the weapons brushing against his arms. He lifted his arm to launch it, gritting his teeth and frowning, seeing the boy stiffen and prepare himself for the attack-
He was gone. Nothing else seemed out of place; although he did feel stiff and slightly disorientated. DiZ must have tampered with the program.
Damn it. Sighing, he let his weapons disappear. Roxas was probably at the mansion already, where Sora resided- in the real Twilight Town. Namine had told him that much. The basement of the mansion, in this simulation, was the gateway between the real and the fake.
"The Roxas I know is long gone." He chuckled. "Fine. I see how it is..."
He had one more stop; one more judgement call.
"Happy year anniversary, Rox." Axel smiled sadly, disappearing into a portal behind him.