Chapter 2

Bone-chilling rain pelted Roxas as he sat waiting in that dismal place. He didn't want to be here, but now that Axel had brought him here, there was no where else to go. This place had too many memories. He closed his eyes tight, trying to shut them out, but the images danced behind his eyelids. The moments he could never forget, now that he remembered them once again. When Xemnas gave him his name in front of the old mansion. When Xion came to the Organization. When Xion, Axel, and him became friends. When he found out the truth about her that Axel kept from him, and when he had to...to...His frosted breath thickened in the air as he paused. When he fought her. And then when he finally left the Organization. He had thought of everything up 'till now. Really now, he wanted to resume his search for answers like before, and he felt like he was going to get nowhere hanging around Axel.

A voice echoed inside his head.

But you wanted to see him, now that you remember everything, right? After all, he's all that you have left. All that you ever had in the first place.

All that he had left? Roxas didn't know what to think. How to feel about his relationship towards Axel at that moment. There had been those genuine times, when they went on missions together, ate sea-salt ice-cream, while watching the burning sunset from the clock-tower. Axel had taught him a lot about fighting. But those things that he had really wanted to know—about his past—were never told to him.

The rain was pouring hard now, and Roxas realized his eyes stung. He lowered his head, wiping the rain from his face. It didn't help however, even his clothes were already soaked through. He couldn't help wondering why Axel was taking so long. His brow furrowed. Why did he care when Axel got back? He did not need him. He had remembered his powers as an Organization member with the conclusion of his amnesia. He could leave here...leave this place...but to where? Somewhere. Anywhere else but here. But even after thinking this, Roxas didn't move.

"So your mind's made up?"

Roxas paused. "Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know." He could sense Axel's mounting frustration.

"You can't turn on the Organization! You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"

Roxas tried not to show his sadness, his voice almost monotone. "No one would miss me." He continued walking further from the depths of The Word That Never Was. He would not let Axel keep him from leaving.

"That's not true! I would."

Roxas almost made the mistake of looking back. His chest hurt, ached. He had not truly wanted to leave his friend. But he knew, there was no use in pretending that after everything that had happened, something had been damaged. Their relationship had become strained. If he stayed there, he would be kept in the dark. Lies continue to be filled in his head. From the Organization. From Axel. He didn't want it. Didn't need it. Who was to even say that those last words that Axel told him weren't a lie as well.

A shudder passed through Roxas's body. He had gotten far too cold.

Axel was clutching a black, hooded cloak. Roxas's. He knew if he was going to have Roxas travel with him, he couldn't have him in those clothes that he wore in Twilight Town. They were too conspicuous, and besides, with Roxas's old clothes, he could use the hood to help disguise his face when needed. He didn't want the other members to know that Roxas was truly alive.

He sighed.

"Care to tell me what you're doing?"

The cloak fell from Axel's hands, landing softly on the bed. He picked it back up, turning to see Saïx in the doorway, that same suspicious look on his face.

"H-hey! Saïx, don't sneak up on me like that!" Axel's chest felt like it was going to explode.

The blue-haired man wasn't fazed in the least by his reaction. He merely glared at Axel's hands.

Axel noticed him staring. "Oh, this? I was just going to toss it on my way out, y'know, since Roxas won't be around anymore and all."

"Hmph, don't linger too long in here. This room is supposed to stay empty."

Axel nodded. "Gotcha, well, I'll be leaving now."

Axel took Roxas's cloak and headed out of the room. Once he was out of sight, he groaned heavily, thinking how Saïx was as uptight and persistent as ever. He was going to have to continue to be careful with what he was doing. Once he was out of the headquarters and outside, he realized how hard it had been raining. His mind flashed to panic as he remembered he had left Roxas out here all this time. He hurried through the portal of darkness that he created, hoping that Roxas was still where he had left him.

When he had returned, he sighed. Roxas was sitting on one of the metal circuits of machinery, his knees hugged tightly to his chest, head down. Axel came over and wrapped the cloak around Roxas's shivering body. He felt sorry for leaving him alone for this long.

"Hey, kiddo, I'm back." Axel said.

"Took you long enough."

Roxas's voice sounded strangled. It was strange, but Axel could tell that Roxas was pissed about something. He didn't understand why he would be angry. Here he was doing the kid all sorts of favors. And he had no other reason other than that he wanted to, and he was acting like this? He watched Roxas stagger to his feet. He guessed he was still feeling tired after their fight. He took this chance to respond to his retort properly.

"What's your problem?"

Axel heard the boy mutter something, his eyebrows furrowing.

"You."

The silence Roxas heard after that sickened him, and he forced himself to look up into Axel's eyes. He didn't care if he saw that he was on the verge of tears.

"Even after all this time, you still won't tell me anything?" Roxas's voice was shaking.

Axel looked at him sternly. So that's what this was about. Axel wanted to hold him. To tell him that he had kept all these things from him because he didn't want him to be worrying about things beyond his control, to be worrying about things that shouldn't matter anymore. Couldn't they just focus on things the way they were before? When it was just the two of them? But when Roxas latched on to him he froze. He seemed to hesitate more and more these days when it came to Roxas. It hurt Axel to look down into those wet eyes.

"Why can't you trust me?"

Did he trust Roxas? With the past, no. With the future, yes. Axel found his strength. He wrapped his arms around him slowly.

"Quit worrying about stuff that's already happened." Man, what a way with words he had.

Roxas's eyes widened. He pushed Axel away from him, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I don't believe you." He said. With a gesture of his hand, Roxas opened a portal went through it. It closed as quickly as it opened.

"Roxas!" Axel called out. But was already too late. He was gone. This was not good. In Roxas's weakened state, he was in danger. He couldn't leave him by himself. Marluxia and Xaldin were still out doing their missions the last he could remember. If Roxas ran into either of them...He tried to suppress his anxiety. He opened his own portal of darkness and went through it. He had to find Roxas before the unthinkable happened.

A/N: Annnd 2nd chapter in and Roxas has already run off again, lol. I didn't want to write this A/N until getting a bit more of the story in. I'm still thinking up ideas for the story, as well as trying to keep the flow. But moreover, how is it so far? Reviews will help me to continue the story along, so they are very much appreciated!