Axel was a Nobody who was desperate to feel. He was numb, unfeeling, and yet he could still feel things; the texture of a surface or the wind blowing against his skin. He could feel with his body, but his heart was something else entirely.
Axel couldn't feel emotions, for he had no heart. That was what his superiors told him when he found his way into the infamous Organization XIII (then known as Organization VIII). Yet, in his earlier days within the organization, he could have sworn that, despite his lack of heart, he still felt a sense of something within that empty chest of his. He thought he could still love things or hate things even if he felt numb inside. He confronted all the seven members before him about this strange phenomenon he thought he could feel, but each and every one of them dissuaded his hopeful words with the explanation that what he was feeling were mere memories of emotion from his past life when he had a heart; the faint echo of something that once was. They told him that it would fade as his memories inevitably would.
And with this belief firmly implanted in Axel's mind, his emotions -- or the echoes thereof -- did fade into Oblivion.
He felt so incomplete and it... bothered him -- if he was able to be bothered by anything at all. It was silly to feel that way, he told himself, for he obviously was incomplete; the shell of a person. A Nobody forever incomplete without a heart. He wanted to feel though. He wanted proof of his existence, because if he couldn't feel, then what was the point of existing at all?
Pain was something he could feel and he revelled in it. He fascinated himself by cutting his skin and watching the blood pool from the wound only to be healed minutes after. The sharp sensation of blissful pain that pulsed from the cut was what kept him sane. He wanted to feel anything, and even if it wasn't equivalent to love or hate, pain was at least something. It was his proof of existence.
Pretty soon self-inflicted pain became somewhat boring. Axel was a cocky, arrogant asshole by nature, and he used his natural talents to get a rise out of his fellow organization members in hopes of getting into a good fight. He was excellent at his job within the Organization, collecting hearts almost effortlessly and with the utmost diligence incomparable by the other members for it meant getting his heart back, and it meant feeling emotions again, regardless of how long it would take. But after missions, when the Organization would simply hang around the Castle That Never Was, Axel would pester anyone he passed with witty taunts and manipulative words. It wasn't much fun though when it took so much effort to only wind up barely bruised or scratched.
He found pleasure in rattling the newbie, Demyx's nerves. The younger man (or more accurately, boy) was easily ticked off by Axel's antics, but he was such a wimp that the fight afterwards was a waste of time and effort, leaving Demyx annoyed and beaten, and Axel unsatisfied and unscathed. Despite this, Axel still enjoyed seeing the temper rise in the usually pacifist Melodious Nocturne when he made fun of his elemental abilities and, more specifically, his sitar, which was the younger Nobody's most precious belonging.
Lexaeus was rather fun to toy with as well, but was also a wasted effort due to his slowness caused by the bulk of his muscles. Axel was far too fast for the brute of a Nobody and the battle was almost useless for Axel. At least the older Nobody would manage to land a few painful hits on Axel's slimmer body with his greater experience in fighting, but never would Axel received the pain he wished he could from these battles, and soon Lexaeus was ignored by the redheaded chakra-wielder.
Vexen, Zexion, Saïx and especially Xemnas were all far too cool-headed or apathetic to Axel's cause to be even slightly annoyed by the fiery Nobody's taunts and teases. Xemnas called Axel's endeavours "immature, hopeless and a waste of energy", which the redhead scoffed at in return. Let the Superior think him hopeless and immature; he had other fish to fry. And besides, he knew they couldn't kick him out of the Organization for his antics; he was far to valuable a fighter to let go for something so juvenile.
This knowledge, however, prevented Xigbar and Xaldin from really giving Axel a good fight. Xaldin especially disliked Axel and would have had no problems in giving the younger Nobody a good beating if Xemnas hadn't ordered that he was not to be damaged in any way. Xaldin sometimes went against Xemnas' orders though and let himself give Axel a few deep cuts to remember him by, although he never left the battle without a few of his own. It was these "recreational" battles that Axel liked the most, feeding off of Xaldin's dislike for him and actually receiving a larger fraction of the pain he loved to feel.
Luxord and Marluxia arrived soon after and Axel found some enjoyment in playing Luxord's games, even when it wasn't a battle. But of course, he was never fully satisfied with the little time spent with Luxord. Marluxia, however, was a conniving little pansy-boy in Axel's honest opinion and the rare fights he wheedled out of the mostly calm scythe-wielder were quite interesting. Marluxia had no problem disregarding Xemnas' orders to leave Axel undamaged, especially since the fiery redhead knew exactly which buttons to press to get his temper flared. He was, however, rather good at keeping himself calm, cool, and collected when he got used to Axel's teasing and the battles became few and far between until they stopped altogether.
For some time, Axel was left on the verge of insanity, once again unable to feel. He couldn't get the same enjoyment out of causing himself pain, couldn't fascinate himself anymore by watching his own hand do the dirty work. He needed something else -- some other way to believe he could feel again...
And then she came...
Larxene was a sadistic bitch who loved watching others feel pain. Their faces contorted in agony gave Larxene some kind of sick pleasure and the sight of their blood flowing so gracefully from their fragile bodies was absolutely euphoric to the blond Nobody. She supposed that watching others express feeling substituted for her lack thereof. Or maybe it was a reminder to her. A proof of existence.
She needed to know that the world around her was real. That she wasn't still stuck in that hell hole of darkness she'd found herself in when the heartless stole her heart away. She wandered the world, her mind barely holding on to reality, her being not really there, until she found herself in the Castle That Never Was. She couldn't quite remember how she came to be an Organization XII member, but it was better living -- or rather, existing, for isn't that what Nobodies really do instead? -- within the monotonously hued castle than in the nothingness she was in before.
When she first arrived, she was given her weapons and her element and she adored them. The sharp knives were perfect for drawing blood and the electricity running through her fingertips made her feel giddy with anticipation. It was a perfect torture device. She could choose to zap her victims to the point of exhaustion and watch their faces as their body ached from the harsh electrical waves, or she could, more preferably, paralyze them and still watch their faces as she pushed them inch by inch to the edges of their frail, pitiful lives. She often drew out her torture on her poor, unsuspecting victims when on heart-collecting missions. She'd steal their hearts, but she could keep them alive long enough to enjoy watching their agony and to hear their meek cries of pain. Larxene laughed at the wonder of it all.
Then she met him one day. Larxene hadn't bothered to introduce herself to anyone. She'd only waste her time doing so if they happened to be her mission partner. And one day a fiery, spiky, redheaded man and fellow Organization member named Axel was assigned to collect hearts with her in Hallow Bastion. He appraised her, looking the blond up and down.
"You must be the new girl." Axel said redundantly, his voice holding an edge of a sneer.
Larxene smiled venomously at him, already knowing that she'd enjoy the company of this arrogant prick. "Yeah, and who are you?" she replied with the same edge to her voice.
He smirked, a gesture that annoyed Lerxene for some unfathomable reason, and said, "Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"
She would definitely enjoy this asshole's company, she thought to herself.
When they were on their mission, however, they were all-business. She noticed Axel's focus in the task, how he so swiftly stole their hearts away without a second glance. He took no enjoyment in it, she noted when she saw his empty eyes, as if he did it out of necessity and only wished to get as many as possible in the least amount of time. She grabbed onto his arm as they made their way through an alley towards their next victim, showing a surprising amount of strength in her deceivingly small hands. The taller man looked down on her and simply raised a red eyebrow.
"You need to enjoy the pain." she said darkly and, without waiting for his reaction, she continued to the alleyway where they'd trapped their final victim.
Axel was somewhat confused to the woman's statement, but he followed her nonetheless. Of course he enjoyed the pain, but how would she know that about him? Then he realized what she was talking about when they descended on the frightened soul before them.
She wanted him to enjoy their pain.
He stared in sick fascination at the screaming victim as Larxene dug her deadly knives ever so slowly into the pliable skin and muscle of the human before them. She deliberately missed any vitals, focusing solely on causing them brutal agony. She shocked the blades with electricity, causing the victim to twitch and contort their face in pain, their mouth open in a scream so intense that no sound came out at all. Axel looked at his comrades face to find an expression of absolute bliss and found himself wishing that it was directed at him.
But she was loving her task, taking pleasure in what she was doing. Never had Axel seen any member of the Organization look so happy as they took a heart. The torture was unnecessary to the job; hearts could be simply taken without a single wound from their chest, but this was joy for the Savage Nymph. He could see and almost feel her euphoria when she ran a gloveless hand across the blood-soaked body. He could almost imagine just how the sticky liquid would feel against fingertips unguarded by leather. And as if reading his mind, Larxene looked up at him with a devilish expression and beckoned him to join her.
He did, and he took off a glove as he kneeled to run his palm over the blood-slicked skin. The human was still breathing -- still alive -- their heart beating fast in desperation to live. In curiosity, he lit a fire with his hand and heated a blade, making the human writhe from the torture of the heated metal. Larxene laughed, her voice like bells, at the display before her and rested her head against the redhead's shoulder.
"You're a quick learner." she laughed, stroking his pale cheek with a blood-soaked hand. Axel watched intently as she ran her bloody fingers over her pale lips, covering them in a mock lipstick. She grinned, the crimson blood causing it to look more sinister, and kissed him on the cheek not yet covered in the red substance. Then she finally took the fluttering heart from the tortured victim's chest and they watched as it floated towards the sky to where Xemnas' Kingdom Hearts was growing.
The human was fading from existence, becoming a Heartless, but not before Larxene took her final pleasure in ripping her knives cruelly from their body to hear them cry out one last time. She laughed at their weakness and Axel smiled at the sound, almost laughing himself at such a scene. He didn't find as much bliss from watching the human writhe painfully as Larxene did, but he certainly found comfort in her sadism.
He did enjoy the pain. His pain. And he finally knew a way to get what he'd been so desperately searching for all this time.
Oh, he was going to have so much fun with Larxene...
AN: I dunno what's gotten into me, but I guess I'll take a shot at some LarxenexAxel. I hope they're not too OOC since I haven't played KHII in so long and haven't played KH:CoM (I have seen cutscenes online for the Final Mix). Review please and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism, too, please, and I'll accept flames, although don't think I'll take it nicely. o.-