Disclaimer: I do not own anything from from the Kingdom hearts series.

Warning: This fic is rated M for a reason. There will be some adult situations, which includes physically intimate scenes. If that offends you, then this probably isn't the fanfic for you.

Hey, I'm SapphireFox. I'm so glad you stopped by to read my fanfic. This is an Axel x Roxas fanfic, so if you aren't a fan of the pairing, then you might not want to read this. Although who knows, maybe you might like them after this fanfic.

I hope you all enjoy!

An angry symphony of clashing steel echoed throughout the poorly lit cave on the outskirts of a small city; occasional grunts played the bass as two figures wildly flung their weapons at each other. One was a short blond male wielding a key as a weapon, while the other was an equally short brunette woman wielding a katana.

The two clashed when the woman spotted him on the outskirts of the village, entering the cave. An investigation into the eerie, cold cave that was decorated with spider webs and rocks initiated a sudden brawl that she hadn't expected. That was the art of combat. One minute she was enjoying a peaceful evening, and another she was clashing her blade with her opponent once more, holding each other in a dead lock.

"Why are you doing this?!" The woman grunted as their weapons trembled before them. She received no answer, only a cold stare. With that, the tom-boy of a woman let out a powerful grunt as she pushed forward with both her blade and her shoulder, sending her adversary staggering back before landing on his bottom. His keyblade had flung across the room.

"Who are you?!" She demanded, holding her blade out toward his face. His oceanic eyes met her chestnut ones before she received a reply.

"Shut up!" The blond barked as the keyblade vanished in a blue sparkle and reappeared in his hand. With one swift slash, he disarmed the female, and immediately followed through with a sweep of his leg toward hers, sending her flying into the air before landing with a hard thud. She winced and gazed up just in time to see the slender figure standing before her, holding the keyblade up to her face. Unfortunately, she didn't receive the same sympathy and restraint she had shown him.

"Why?" Was the last unanswered question she asked before she received a powerful kick toward the side of her head, knocking her unconscious. A faint smirk tugged at the blonde's lips as his weapon vanished and he lifted the fallen enemy with some difficulty. An ominous collection of shadows began to swirl around and slowly rise from the ground, creating a doorway behind the successful combatant. It wasn't long before a doorway was formed from the shadows and the two figures disappeared into it.

"I'm back" The victor hummed as he stepped out of a dark, shadowy portal with his target in his arms. He gazed around at the large, grand room: thirteen large towers stood proudly at the opposite end of the room, facing the entrance. Atop each tower sat a figure garnished in ebony trench coat, which was a welcoming sight from the blinding ivory that seemed to run throughout the entire castle.

"Excellent, Roxas" A calm voice hummed from a silver-haired male who sat atop the tallest tower. However, even despite his calm nature he spoke with an authority that few could match with growls.

"Mulan: the great heroine of the Land of Dragons. She'll make a powerful ally. Saïx, take her to the heartless pit. Once they've taken her heart, kill her heartless, then go find her nobody. It should appear on her home world. Find her and bring her here"

The leader received a nod from an aqua-haired that sat upon one of the highest towers. He pushed forward, leaping down from his chair and landing with a loud thud, flat on his feet. The golden-haired male couldn't help but wince at the sight: it must've been extremely rough on his knees. Saïx strode toward Roxas and collected the small Asian woman before he left without another word.

Immediately after Saïx left the room, another portal opened and a fiery-haired figure casually strode through. He received a few cold glares from some of the members, while others didn't really seem to care.

"Where's Belle?" The leader inquired as he leaned forward slightly.

"Couldn't get her. The beast stopped me" The fiery-haired male explained as he rubbed the back of his head, shooting the Organization members an awkward, pearly grin.

"Doesn't surprise me. You can't do anything right" A monotone voice escaped a pink-haired male as he rested an elbow on the arm of his tower and rested his chin in his palm. "You're so useless, Axel" He added before he crossed one leg over the other and narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. However, even with his cocky attitude, he seemed as though he was posing. One could almost smell the arrogance seeping from him.

"Marluxia, that's enough" The silver-haired male commanded, before gazing over at a braided raven-haired male. While continuing his operations, he missed the subtle glare given to him from Marluxia. "Xaldin, take this mission"

"Of course, Xemnas" The male spoke before he leaned forward and tumbled off his tower, performing a flip before landing gracefully into a crouch. With that, he marched through the portal that Axel came from.

"Everyone else, leave us. I want to have a word with Axel alone" Xemnas spoke firmly, narrowing his eyes at the red-head. Everyone nodded without a word and left, each having varying opinions, interest, and levels of resentment toward the two.

However, Roxas was the only one that felt bad for Axel: he had to face all of that judgment and criticism. Roxas knew Axel deserved it to an extent: Axel had been slacking off and had been unsuccessful with his assignments. He had to do his job and pull his own weight to garner respect in the Organization, and he hadn't been doing that.

A couple days passed without any missions or assignments, which was odd for Roxas. Normally he'd have one day of down time at the most, but he wasn't complaining. This did give him time to train. However, he did wish Axel was there: it'd give him something else to do. With both Axel and Demyx out on missions, Roxas was left alone.

Luckily, his dry spell was broken. Xemnas stood in his doorway.

"Roxas" Xemnas greeted. "I have a mission for you. Come with me"

Roxas nodded as he rose from his ivory bed and followed Xemnas, walking with him down one of the many long, milky halls of the Castle That Never Was. Roxas despised the castle: it's odd, blocky architecture, pearly halls, and emptiness were nothing but a physical manifestation of what he felt inside. One thing Roxas didn't like was the constant reminder of his jaded nature.

"I need you to do an 'internal' mission" Xemnas informed him, drawing a confused look from the blond.

"Internal mission?"

"Yes. We have a loose end in our plan that needs to be tied up. If it isn't, it'll unravel our work at expanding our Organization's power. It's a threat to us. I need you to take care of it" Xemnas lead Roxas down another hallway to their right, leading him toward the dungeon. However, Roxas hadn't been paying attention to where they were going: he was just following Xemnas.

"Yeah, sure. What do you need me to do?"

"I'm glad you asked" Xemnas asked as they stopped outside of the dungeon doorway. Roxas paused for a second. It must've been Mulan. She must've defeated the heartless in the pit and tried to escape.

Xemnas pushed the door open, allowing darkness to creep into the bright, well-lit hallway. Roxas couldn't see what was inside, so he ventured in. He squinted to get a better look; however, what he found wasn't Mulan. The sight of a familiar fiery-haired figure chained to the wall, weary and fatigued, had caught him by surprise. Roxas eyes widened, before he gazed up at Xemnas.

"Axel is the loose end?"

Well, this is the end of the first chapter, and there will be many more to come! I hope you all enjoyed the fanfic. If you did, leave me a review. It would make me so happy to hear about what my viewers think of the fanfic. Thanks for reading!