Axel Todd

Attend the tale of Axel Todd.
His skin was pale and his eye was odd.
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
who never thereafter were heard of again.
He trod a path that few have trod
did Axel Todd
the demon pyro of Fleet Street.

The dense streets of The World That Never Was reflected off the sonic lights that hung on the stained walls of shops. Many Nobodies strutted around, both Organization and Dusk-wise. They swayed and watched the ground, eyes in slits and faces dirty from work.

He kept a shop in London town.
Of fancy clients and good renown
and what if none of their souls were saved
they went to their maker impeccably shaved.
By Axel,
by Axel Todd
the demon pyro of Fleet Street.

Their eyes averted to the sky, staring at the lightening that flashed and thunder that boomed. Small drops of rain pelted against their face, slowly turning into a hard one.

Swing your razor wide!
Axel, hold it to the skies.
Freely flows the blood of those who moralize.
His needs were few, his room was bare.
A lavabo and a fancy chair.
A mug of suds, and a leather strop,
an apron, a towel, a pail, and a mop.
For neatness he deserves a nod,
does Axel Todd,
the demon pyro of Fleet Street.

They evaporated from their spots through portals of darkness. The Organization members pulled their hood over their heads, looking down once again. They whispered under their hoods, though, words that almost sounded like they were being hissed out.

Axel,

Does Axel Todd

The demon pyro of Fleet Street

------

A small boat sailed in on the misty water, drawing closer to the dock. A boy with spiky brown hair and ragged clothes, a boy named Sora, looked out at the surface seeing the world he had longed to be in for more than five years. He smiled and leaned his elbow against a wooden staff.

I have sailed the world
beheld its wonders
from the Deep Jungle,
to the Land of Dragons, yes,
But there's no world like this one!

Another man walked beside him, face paled and hair as red as blood. He looked out at the town with cloudy eyes and a grimace.

No there's no world like this one

Sora stared at the man, mouth dropped and blue eyes big. He grasped the staff with his worked down hand.

"Axel?" He asked, staring at him with questioning eyes. This was both of their homes. Why wasn't he happy to be back?

Axel looked down, though, eyes squinting. The memories that flung at him; it was almost unbearable.

You are young

Life has been kind to you

He closed his eyes and walked away from where he had stood.

You will learn

Sora let go of the staff and turned to see his friend walk away from him. His heart dropped heavily, thinking Axel's reaction would be better than what he had given him. He followed him, eyebrows arched back and a small frown plastered across his face.

They had docked along the rock shore. Axel had already stepped onto the dock, walking forward onto pure gravel. Sora tried catching up with him, hands winding around at his sides. He panted lightly and made it to Axel's side, staggering to a stop.

"Is everything alright, Axel?" He asked his red-headed friend. He stopped on a stone road and looked toward his friend. Well, looked down at.

"I beg your indulgence, Sora," He told him. He looked out at the city again, "My mind is far from easy. In these once familiar streets I feel- shadows. Everywhere."

He kicked a rock and looked down again, afraid of entering back into the actual city. His eyes flashed as Sora waited for an explanation for his words.

There was a pyro and his wife
and she was beautiful

He smirked slightly at the thought of his 'beautiful' wife. The smirk evaporated quickly, though, into a frown, and he continued.

A foolish barber and his wife
He was his reason and his life
and he was beautiful,
and he was virtuous
and he was naive.

Sora listened intently, seeing that his friend's face was in the expression of severe sorrow. He blinked as he saw Axel's nose flare and mouth grimace.

There was another man who saw
that he was beautiful
A pious vulture of the law,
who with a gesture of his claw
removed the barber from his plate!
Then there was nothing but to wait!
And he would fall!
So soft!
So young!
So lost and oh so beautiful!

His lips curved out lightly as his fingers spread out into the air. He almost looked as if he was going to cry, from the obvious moisture that threatened to give way in his eyes.

Sora, who watched him with curiosity and pity, stepped closer to him. His face was almost a foot away from Axel's, but the red-head didn't even remove his stare from the city.

"And the lady, sir," He started, interested in his tale, "did she succumb?"

Axel tilted his head slightly to his right and lowered his chin. His fingers relaxed unlike his eyebrows that stayed in their stiff place.

Oh, that was many years ago
I doubt if anyone would know

He relaxed his body and blinked, removing the water from his eyes. It didn't even look as if moisture ever was there. He looked toward Sora, eyes sharp, yet cloudy.

"I'd like to thank you, Sora," He said, nodding, "If you hadn't spotted me, I'd be lost on that ocean, still."

Sora nodded as a 'your welcome' to him. He continued to stare with curiosity, though, and he asked him another question, getting off the subject of his tale. He wondered for a few seconds; was he the foolish pyro with a wife.

"Will I see you again?" He asked, pulling his bag higher onto his shoulder. Axel shrugged, unaware if he would be able to.

'You might find me if you'd like," He said, voice barely audible, "Around Fleet Street, I wouldn't wonder."

Sora smiled, lips lightly closed. He nodded to him and turned to walk away.

"Till then, my friend," He said, almost chirping. He waited for him to say his farewell, but only got a stern nod again. He frowned slightly and turned and walked, glancing over his shoulder a few times to see his friend still standing there.

Axel stood, alone, with only a loose, white, buttoned up shirt with rolled up sleeves that gathered at the end. The suspenders that crossed over his back and lay on his shoulder to his waist were tight yet his trousers looked loose. He looked back down at the ground and flared his nose again, staring at the ground with anger.

There's a hole in the world
like a great black pit and it's
filled with people
who are filled with shit
and the vermin of the world inhabit it.

He thrust his head to look up at the dreaded black sky, staring at it with revenge-filled eyes. The sharp memories from within himself shot at him like an arrow to a target, only with these arrows coming by the dozens. The memory of Roxas, his beautiful wife, the small face of his once newly born daughter Naminé. But most of all he remembered the day he was framed.

The day he became known as, Axel Todd.