Axel returned to The World That Never Was and entered the castle. He made his way to Larxene's room and knocked on the door. When Larxene answered it, she hugged him and said, "Welcome back, Axel." She pulled away from him and invited him inside. Axel sat on her bed and Larxene turned to face him, leaning back on the door. "Listen, I have an idea..." Axel began. TEN MINUTES LATER..."Uh-uh. I am not going to allow you to throw away your life just for freedom," said Larxene, when Axel had told her about his plan to be free. "And even if you did destroy the Door, we'd still have the whole Organization to go through." 'But Larxene, don't you think we could handle them? I mean, it's not like we're weak," countered Axel. "You're missing the point. Yes, we might be able to make it through a few of them, but don't you think we'd be worn out when the final battle came, IF we even managed to destroy the door? No, we're going to think this through thoroughly. There has to be another way," said Larxene, looking out her bedroom window to observe The World That Never Was' city. Axel stood up from where he was sitting on her bed and came to put his arms around her waist. "I have full confidence that we'll come out of this alive." Larxene pulled away from him and walked across the room. she paced back and forth for five minutes, not saying a word. Finally, she said, "Okay, fine. We'll give this a shot. However, If anything should happen, we're coming back here and thinking of something else." "Larxene, I don't think they're just going to let us come back. If we go, we go all the way." said Axel. Seeing the worried look on her face, Axel walked over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace, putting one hand on her head and gently stroking her head. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered. "You say that like I'm a fragile girl that needs to be protected." Larxene said with a chuckle. Axel pulled away, holding only her hands. "You'd rather I do nothing, then?" Axel said, grinning. "No! just... treat me like a partner as well as a lover." Larxene said. "If any one else saw you now, I bet they would so surprised they'd faint, wake up, then faint again. Larxene laughed. Axel loved it when she laughed. It was so... heartwarming. Maybe it was love, maybe it was because she rarely laughed at all. Axel didn't care. He just loved... her. The next day, Axel went to the Alter of Naught to talk with Xemnas. He and Larxene would be gone for a long time, and the rest of Organization XIII would probably figure out what they were up to, but it couldn't hurt to have an excuse. "Who knows, maybe it'll keep them off our tails for awhile," Axel said to himself. As he climbed the staircase, he thought of what DiZ had said the day before, "So, to free both yourself and Larxene, you must destroy the Door to Darkness." That was going to take awhile. How would they do it, anyway? Obviously they couldn't just hack it down... but wait! They could destroy it from the inside... but how would they get inside the Door? You couldn't just open it... Axel shook away the thought. I'll figure it out when I get there, he thought. When he reached the top of the stairs, he found Xemnas staring at the heart-shaped moon- Kingdom Hearts. "Isn't it glorious?" he said, looking at it with eyes filled with longing. Axel remembered how he used to look at Larxene like that. But that's not why he was here... "Larxene and I need to go on an expedition to all the worlds. We might be gone for awhile." Xemnas took his gaze away from Kingdom Hearts to look at Axel. "What? Why? We know where the Keybearer is... why would you want to make such a long trip?" Axel thought hard of an excuse, and then it came. "I want to make sure that all the keyholes are sealed. You know we can't have heartless running wild everywhere." Xemnas looked at Axel questioningly, but finally said, "Very well. Be back here in five month's time." "Thanks, Xemnas." Axel started to walk away, but Xemnas cut him off. "Oh, and Axel, I know of your... 'Relations' with Larxene. It would be wise to end your relationship now, before anything serious happens. Love is not our way." "Okay," said Axel, but his mind was thinking of something entirely different involving one of his weapons and Xemnas' dismembered head. Axel walked to Larxene's room and found her rummaging through her things to find what looked like her claws, since one pair was already located. "I don't mean to be rude, but we've got five months to get back here, and-" "Can it. I'm kinda stressed right now," said Larxene, who had finally located her claws. "There. Now, do you have your... whatever they're called?" "Yes. I guess we can go," Axel said, heading for the door. "Wait!" said Larxene, "Did you talk to Xemnas?" "Yes. He thinks we're searching the worlds to see if there are any remaining heartless in them." "That'll do us some good, but eventually he'll realize we lied. This'll take a lot more than five months," said Larxene worriedly. Axel pulled her into a reasuring hug. "Eh. We can handle him, right?" Larxene returned the hug. "You bet." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As soon as Larxene and Axel were out of the castle, Larxene said, "Oh-no! How're we going to get from one world to the next?" Axel put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Take it easy. There's a portal at the end of each world. Hey, chin up. Don't be so stressed. We'll make it through this, okay?" Larxene took in a big breath and exhaled. "Okay, I'm calm. Let's do this." Axel and Larxene walked side by side for about ten minutes, when ten Neo Shadows rose from the ground and circled around the both of them. Axel drew his weapons and Larxene unsheathed her claws. They were back to back, and the Neo Shadows were closing in. Axel lit his weapons on fire, and threw them at the Neo Shadows. Axel hit two and then the weapons circled back and hit two more. Axel caught them in each hand and swung at the Neo Shadow on his left. Direct hit! The remaining Neo shadow on Axel's right side pounced on him and sliced his back. Axel winced from the pain but threw the Neo Shadow off his back. After he got up, however, the Neo Shadow tried to pounce again. This time Axel threw one of his weapons at the Neo Shadow, killing it before it could even get close to him. Axel turned back to see if Larxene was alright, but she was just finishing the last one by using her speed to cut the Neo Shadow in half when he looked. Axel was breathing heavily, as was Larxene. "Nice...one." he said. "No...problem..." Larxene replied. After they caught their breath, they continued on their journey. When they finally got to the portal, Larxene hesitated. Axel sensed her uneasy-ness. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What if we don't come back? What if we..." "...Die? I would NEVER let that happen. Don't worry. Here..." Axel held out his hand, and Larxene took it. "I love you," she said. "Ditto," said Axel. So, they both stepped through the portal leading to Twilight Town. (Sweet! They?re on their way! Please review!)