Author's note: The second chapter is up. It's a bit longer this time with some more answers about what's going on. And Demyx appears.

Enjoy :D

Abyss

Chapter 2 – the Cheshire Cat eats Butterflies

Roxas slowly woke up from a dreamless sleep. Unfortunately his weird encounter with those eerie clowns hadn't been a nightmare, since he was still stuck in that bland room. Feeling a little less sore than last night, he stretched his limbs lazily. I guess I should eat something, if this is going to start all over again. He started eating from the bread which laid on a plate on the sterile floor. Chewing absently, the blonde wondered if he would see that red-haired guy, Axel, again. "He said that I'd have to start over again." The memory of those clowns made Roxas shudder as he hoped that he wouldn't have to go against them on his own.

"Good morning."

The blonde almost choked on his bread as the girly computer voice rang through the room. "Subject XIII has failed his last level." Roxas quickly took a sip of his drink as the computer droned on. He had a feeling that those lights were going to dim again and that he would have to start this freak show again. "Subject XIII will start at Level 1." Silence. Then the light flicked off and on again, showing the same circus-like tent from yesterday. I hate being right. The nine clowns from yesterday were waving happily towards him.

And so was a certain redhead.

"Ready for your next try, kiddo?" Axel asked. Left eye twitching slightly, Roxas couldn't suppress snipping back, "I'm not a kid." Axel only started smirking at the cold reply though. "Really? Well you could've fooled me." A wink. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" His blue eye gave another twitch. "So what's your name?" Remember that he saved you last time, Roxas. Be nice. "My name's Roxas."

The clowns seemed to have lost their patience as well. "If you're quite done with the introductions, then let's begin." Another joined in, "Yeah. Let the hell games begin." Suddenly a big ball of fire lit up the room. It seemed they had started a new act. Flame breathing. Still better than lions, I suppose.

Much to Roxas' surprise Axel just started laughing. "Flames, eh? This could be fun." Big blue eyes blinking up incredulously at him, Axel just flashed the blonde another smirk and looked around the room. "The first level isn't really that difficult really. The key never even changes places." He was right. Right above the middle of the tightrope, a golden key was hanging from the tent-ceiling. "Think you can get it again, Roxy?" Another twitch. "I'll distract those creeps and show them how to really play with fire." If Roxas hadn't already thought of Axel as a pyromaniac just by his hair, then the glint in those green eyes certainly would've.

"Good luck." With one last glance back at the lanky stranger, Roxas started walking over to the tightrope again. As he climbed the stairs to the platform, a yell could be heard. Looking over his shoulder, he could see that Axel had managed to knock one of the clowns out. Stealing a bottle and fire stick out his hands in the process. He's not seriously going to do that, is he? Axel was. Holding the bottle over his lips, the redhead took a big sip. Far bigger than those of the painted creeps. Then he sprayed it out over the fire stick. A huge flame filled the room. Much larger than any of the clowns', keeping them at bay.

After getting over the shock that this stranger was apparently a master fire breather, he started climbing again. Reaching the platform, Roxas took another glance at the spectacle meters below him. Yes, meters below me. Which will be the death of me if I fall down… Axel had paused for a minute and was looking directly at the blonde. Was that concern in his eyes? "Well blondie, are you gonna start walking, during this century preferably? Too scared probably." So much for concern. "Excuse me, if I don't feel like balancing countless meters above the ground without a safety net!" Roxas growled back. Axel simply raised an eyebrow at him, which seemed to say 'and I care, why?'. Grumbling under his breath Roxas started walking on the tightrope, his eyes missing the satisfied smirk that crossed the redhead's lips.

With a careful balance he was able to grab the key yet again and cross to the opposite platform. "Come back down," Axel ordered. Holding back a retort at the bland command, Roxas could see that the pyromaniac stood a little before the stairs to keep the clowns away. Careful not to repeat what happened to Roxas the last time.

Once the blonde had climbed down, he started looking around for the door to put the key into. "Look to your right." Doing as Axel said, Roxas only saw the red-white walls of the tent. Frowning slightly, he could see a little lock in the wall. So the door is hidden within the wall? I never would've found it that easily on my own. "Stay behind me." The redhead started walking slowly towards the door, keeping the clowns away with his flames at the same time. They were almost near the wall when suddenly Roxas no longer saw fire in the corner of his eyes.

The bottle had run out of liquid.

Axel threw the bottle at the nearest clown, who let out an agonizing sound, and grasped Roxas' wrist, sprinting towards the key lock. They weren't fast enough though, quickly the remaining seven clowns surrounded the duo. Grasping the fire stick tightly in his hands, the redhead softly whispered to Roxas, "I'll create an opening and then you can sprint to the door." He didn't like that idea though. "Then how are you supposed to get out?" Roxas countered. No answer. "Do you even know how to handle a stick or sword-like weapon?" He got a tense answer. "Not sword-like, no."

I'm gonna regret this so much. "Well I can. So you can sprint to the door and open it, while I keep them busy." Replacing the key with the stick from of Axel's loosened grip, Roxas quickly unarmed two clowns as they were equally shocked by his sudden attack. Axel blinked once, before regaining his composure and running the last steps towards the lock to open it.

The clowns obviously didn't know how to attack properly either. Roxas could quickly manoeuvre between the creeps by using the stick like a sword. I seriously need to buy Leon a thank-you present if I ever get out. His trainer's 'no pain, no gain' exercises had made the blonde one of the best young swordsmen in the country.

Finally a loud click was heard as Axel unlocked the door. Roxas was nimble enough to avoid the now desperate clowns and sprinted towards the door. As he flew through the opening, Axel quickly closed the door, shutting out the clowns.

Both were panting loudly as they tried to control their racing hearts. "Nice tricks, goldilocks. Didn't think you could hold your own against those freaks," Axel laughed.

"Please don't call me that. Those clowns kept calling me that too." Their faces and voices are going to roam through my dreams. Scratch that. Through my nightmares. Roxas' eyes flinched at the memory of those white eyes. "Ah I guess, I'll just call you Roxy then, or blondie. Plenty of other possibilities," The redhead answered with a grin. The blue-eyed youth could feel his blood pressure rising.

"…How about just using my actual name?" Another wink. "Where's the fun in that?" Axel questioned. Sighing, he looked at his new surroundings. It was very plain. A dull grey colour everywhere and not even one piece of furniture. When he glanced over his shoulder, he found out that the door had disappeared too. Axel followed his gaze and answered, "We just passed a level and are allowed a little breather. But since this is still below Level 5, we'll have to continue again after a few minutes."

Roxas decided to ask the question which had been on his mind ever since the lights had dimmed the first time. "What is this place?" Axel smirked at him again, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's a game. With levels. Just now, we passed Level 1." Looking into the blonde's blue eyes, he continued, "When you fail during the first 5 levels, you get placed into an isolated chamber until your next turn. Like yesterday. When you win, if still below Level 5, you directly continue to the next level. Until it turns 11.00 P.M. After that time you get transported to the 'Rest Chamber', as we call it. Everyone who is somewhere between Level 1 and Level 5 may rest there." Roxas nodded. Wait, 'everyone'?

"There are more people stuck here?" Roxas asked. Axel gave a hollow laugh. "When the computer greeted you, what number did she call you?" She called me a subject. Subject number…"Thirteen." He answered. "Yeah. Larxene's twelve so you're our newest addition, number thirteen." Axel replied. "The first five levels are pretty easy. We can probably do Level 2 and 3 today. Then four and five tomorrow." He keeps mentioning Level 5. The blonde slightly tilted his head causing his bangs to fall in his eyes. "What's so special about the fifth level?"

The redhead's grin seemed more genuine this time. "After finishing Level 5, we get a new Rest Room. More luxurious. It even has a small radio and television." His grin widened. "Plus, you can see everyone between the levels 5 to 10 there. I haven't picked on Xaldin in a while now." Judging by the look in his green eyes, Axel was already thinking of ways to pester this Xaldin guy. "Maybe even see Demyx. He's kind of an airhead, but a real nice guy. Loads of energy." The redhead closed his eyes for a second, before continuing, "Also, after finishing Level 5, you get to return to the Rest Room each time after finishing a new level. Instead of having to keep going until 11.00 P.M. like right now." He knows a lot about this place. I wonder how long he's been here.

"Congratulations."

Once again, Roxas nearly jumped out of his skin at the unexpected interruption by the computer. I'm never going to get used to that. He quickly glared at Axel, when he heard the redhead chuckling at his reaction. It didn't help much, as the pyromaniac just ruffled his hair in amusement.

The voice continued to play its message. "You have successfully completed Level 1. You will now continue to Level 2. Good luck, subjects VIII and XIII." The light dimmed once again as the computer had finished its message. Great. Now what?

Having shielded himself for more freaky sceneries to appear, Roxas was quite shocked to see nothing but an ordinary white staircase. And apparently it showed. "Stop gaping like a fish, Roxy. To reach a new level, we need to actually go up a floor." Walking ahead, Axel looked over his shoulder as he continued to speak, "Don't worry, blondie. The second level isn't scary, just confusing." Roxas quickly followed the redhead up the stairs. He might feel relieved that the next level wasn't going to be insane, that didn't mean he wanted to pass it alone. No matter how infuriating the other man's smirk might be.

After they reached the top of the stairs, Axel put his hand on the door's handle. He glanced down at Roxas. Yes, down. Because that guy was insanely tall, damn it. "Ready?" The blonde nodded. "Alrighty, here we go. Into the maze."

The tattooed redhead wasn't kidding when he had said maze. Once they had stepped through the door, they stood on top of a platform overlooking the new room. There were endless corridors made out of hedges, forming a complex puzzle. He could see that there were two other platforms in the room. The hedges were so high that even Axel wouldn't be able to look over them once they would leave the high platform. The outer walls in the room had a blue sky with clouds painted on them in a somewhat fairylike style. The entire room looked borrowed out of a children's story. The hedges were cut in strange shapes, some animal, and there were colourful flowers everywhere. Roxas felt like if he was stuck in the movie Alice in Wonderland. Axel fits right in, his grin reminds me of the Cheshire Cat.

Suddenly remembering the point of the game, Roxas looked around for another door or key. "The door is hidden in one of the hedges," Axel answered for him. He tapped a finger to his forehead. "I don't really remember where the key was. It's been a while since my last visit here." He has already been through these levels before. Looking the redhead in the eye, Roxas asked, "What was the highest level you've reached?" A distant look passed over the tall man's eyes. "Level 17 is my record," He answered.
"Really? That's high. How many levels does this place have?" Roxas questioned. Axel gave him a humourless grin. "Do you think I would still be here if I knew? We think twenty is the highest. It gets really difficult after fifteen, Xemnas nearly died at level 19. He's lucky Saix studied medicine and could fix him up." Blue eyes widened at that reply. Axel quickly backtracked. "Hey, hey. That was only once and we're nowhere near such difficult levels." Roxas frowned, "What about the first level then. Those clowns sent lions after me." The redhead sighed. "Well, the first level is quite dangerous, yes… Let's just finish this level, okay? I want to get through this one and three today." Not the most subtle topic change ever.

They walked down the stairs connected to the platform to enter the maze. "So which way do we go?" Roxas asked. There were three different paths in front of the duo. "Ah now I remember. See those flowers?" Axel said. In the hedge of each path was a large flower, none of them were in bloom though. "Go stand in front of one, Roxy." With a doubtful glance at the redhead, Roxas went to stand in front of the flower of the left path.

Nothing happened.

"Now what?" The blonde asked. "Nothing. That's the right path." Axel answered and started walking through the left path. This pattern repeated a couple more times. Roxas would stand in front of one the flowers, nothing would happen and then they'd walk in that direction. The redhead wouldn't stop grinning the entire time. He's waiting for something.

Axel didn't have to wait long.

Roxas looked bored as he stood before another flower. Then suddenly the flower bloomed. And a spray of water hit him straight in the face. Blinking owlishly he turned around to see Axel laughing so hard that he had to clutch his stomach. "Haha. The look on your face was priceless, blondie." Roxas glared at him with as much hate as he could muster. It wasn't very convincing when he was soaked though. "You look like a drenched puppy. So cute." Axel was trying to control his laughter. Cute? The blonde couldn't keep the blush from creeping up his cheeks at that comment. Quickly ducking his head to hide his reddened cheeks, he muttered. "You pick the flower from now on." Axel just responded with a cheeky grin and picked the next flower. The right one, unfortunately.

They kept walking for another half hour. Each picking flowers alternatively. Roxas was positively soaked by now and Axel proved that even when wet, his hair still defied gravity. This is actually kind of fun. Bantering back and forth, more like flirting on Axel's side, the duo was slowly reaching towards the location of the key.

"How old are you anyway, Roxy?"

"I'm nineteen years. What about you?" Roxas answered. The mischief glint in Axel's eyes appeared again as the redhead looked him over. "So you're legal then, eh?" Cue blush. "Haha, so cute. I'm twenty-three," Axel answered.

Then the path ended and the two youngster were looking at a weirdly cut tree. It looked somewhat like a cross, but the bottom looked off. Hanging on the top was the golden key they needed. "This will be so much easier now that we're together. Last time I was on my own and had to climb that thing to reach the key," Axel complained. "Climbing has never been my best skill. I still have a scar on my knee from when I fell out of tree. I was eight back then, I think." Roxas didn't like where this was going. "I'll give you a boost, Roxy." Just like I thought. Roxas looked at him with eyes full of mistrust. "Ah don't give me that look, blondie. I won't drop you, I promise." The redhead crossed his hand across his heart in a dramatic gesture. The fact he was smirking at him mischievously made it less believable though.

After some more 'subtle' persuasion, Roxas allowed Axel to give him a boost and got the key.

"Great job, blondie." The redhead had failed to call Roxas by his real name even once. "So, where's the key lock, Axel?" Another smirk. "Only a couple more steps, Roxy the Foxy." His blue eyes were starting to get a permanent twitch. Grasping the blonde's wrist, the lanky youth dragged him to the other side of the tree. Revealing a key lock. "Really sneaky, you know. Everybody tends to be so happy that they found the key that they don't even look at the tree again." Axel said as he stole the key out of Roxas' hand and opened the lock.

"On to Level 3, my little ice cube."

After climbing a new set of stairs, the pair ended up in a hallway. It looked like a corridor for the sleeping chambers on an old cruise ship. The floor even tilted slowly from left to right as if they were on sea. It better not end up like the Titanic. Positivism had never been Roxas' strongest virtue.

"This is just a matter of checking rooms and trying to find the key. Without getting butchered by whatever is behind those doors." The tone of Axel's voice showed that he wasn't joking about the 'getting butchered' part. Resisting the urge to gulp, Roxas asked, "What kind of things can be in those chambers?" The redhead shot him a lopsided grin as he answered, "The butterfly lady for one." Butterfly? That doesn't sound that scary. Axel seemed to have read his thoughts as he continued, "Don't be fooled by the name, Roxie. She's one nasty lady." After that, he walked towards the first door. Only to find out it was locked.

"Well, after you get the key, you still have to find the door to fit it in. That's why some doors are locked. Be sure to remember which ones." The redhead walked over to the second door. Grasping the handle slowly, he opened the second door. Water crept out of the room and suddenly they were…

Staring right in the jaw of a very large shark.

Yelling simultaneously, Axel quickly shot the door closed. "Great, right at the second try. My poor heart, I think it almost stopped," Axel complained. Roxas couldn't even reply. He just stood there, shell-shocked. "Yo, Roxie, anybody home?" The redhead had grabbed him by shoulders and was gently shaking him. The blonde could only whimper in reply, "I wanna go home." Sighing softly, Axel ruffled his hair. Then he placed a hand under his chin to make the blonde look up at him. "I know it's freaky, but try to stay positive." Then, whilst standing to his fullest height, he declared in a posh voice. "The great Axel shall protect thee, o holy ice princess."

The newest nickname shook Roxas out of his depression. "Who're you calling an ice princess!" The lanky youth simply answered, "You." With another wink, he sauntered off to the next door. He's so infuriating. Ugh.

They past another dozen doors or so. They weren't scary like the shark, but still totally insane. From an apparently retired plant, talking about 'youngsters these days, using fertilizers and stuff, instead of growing by own force like back in the good old days'. To a starfish who's biggest dream was to travel in a spaceship and visit his 'cousins' in the night sky. The only logical things was that they all had something to do with plants and animals.

Like the butterfly lady.

The latest room was covered with butterflies and some kind of silk threads. And birdcages. Big birdcages considering they could fit an entire human. Is that a mohawk? "Demyx? You got yourself caught again?" Axel sounded a bit frustrated. "Just get me out," The guy, apparently named Demyx, whined.

"Not so fast, darlings."

A woman suddenly appeared. She was totally in white; clothes, hair and even skin. Only her eyes were purple. The lady was wearing a corset, in contrast with her wide skirts. The style reminded Roxas of what women would wear the 16th and 17th century in Europe. Butterfly shapes were pinned all over her dress and hair. She would have been a beautiful woman, if the chilling look in her eyes hadn't destroyed any charm the lady could have had.

A golden key hang on her neck as a necklace. How are we supposed get that thing?

"Now, my dear lady, please just give us the key and we'll be on our way." Axel's polite words didn't correspond with his mocking tone. "Don't tick her off, Axel," Demyx whispered futilely.

The lady gave Axel a bone chilling glare before turning her gaze towards Roxas. "So there's a new victim, I see." The blonde couldn't help himself from flinching under her purple eyes. "Don't even lay a finger on him, you old hag," Axel spat. He had positioned himself between the white lady and Roxas, protectively. Demyx softly muttered, "Now you've done it."

"Old hag!? I'll teach you a lesson, pitiful mortal!"

The white butterflies which had been calmly flying through the room, suddenly regained their colours. Then they started flying through the room in a frantic dance. Brilliant colours were everywhere as the butterflies buzzed 'round Axel and Roxas, rendering them blind. After hearing a click, the duo could see again.

"Join the club," Demyx mocked.

Axel and Roxas were each trapped in a separate cage like Demyx. With the butterfly lady glaring at them smugly. "Now, my darlings, you will become the food for my lovely butterflies."

"Flesh eating butterflies? This place is so freakin' weird," Roxas said. He tried to break the bars of his cage, which seemed to be made of out silk. The kind of silk a caterpillar could weave. It was a lot stronger than it looked though; he couldn't break the bars.

Roxas looked up as he heard another click, but it was a different sound than he had heard before. Looking to his right he saw Axel holding a lighter, as Demyx sighed, "Times like these I'm glad you're a pyro, Axel." The redhead only smirked as he lit the bars of his cage, watching them burn and break. Quickly he was free from his prison and set fire to some of the threads which were hung throughout the room. Soon flames were everywhere and the butterflies were desperately trying to evade the flames. As the white lady shrieked, Axel quickly released Roxas and Demyx from their cages.

They still needed the key though. Which hung on the lady's neck.

"Give us the key and we'll spare the rest of your room," Axel said to the lady, with a wicked grin on his face as he held the lighter close to some more threads. Her butterflies were now in such a blind panic that they were hitting against the walls and furniture in the room.

"Or we could just burn down the entire room," Axel mocked as the lady didn't reply.

With another bone chilling glare the lady reached to her neck and grabbed the key. "Throw it to me," the redhead ordered. He held his lighter even closer to the threads when she didn't move. "Fine, fine," she spat and threw the key to Axel's outstretched hand.

"Pleasure doing business with ya, my dear."

When the trio had left the room, Demyx turned to Roxas with a megawatt smile on his face. "Hi, I'm Demyx! What's your name? How long have you been here? How old are you?" The energetic guy kept shooting questions at Roxas to which the blonde could only blink in amazement. Doesn't he ever need to catch his breath? Axel saved him from having to answer though, as he said, "His name is Roxas, nineteen years and I found him yesterday. Now let's get going. We need to fit this key in one of the doors."

After a few tries, they found the right door and now entered another dull looking room. But it actually had furniture this time.

"Welcome to the first Rest Room, Roxie," Axel said. "It's nothing special, but at least we can eat something and get some sleep. Are you hungry?" At the mention of food Roxas' stomach let loose a loud growl. "Haha, I guess you are." The blonde could only blush in reply.

Dinner wasn't very special, but at least it was edible. Demyx mentioned that the food would get better in the 'second' Rest Room.

"Second?" Roxas questioned.

"Ah, you don't how the system works yet? I'll explain it," Demyx replied. "As far as we know, there are four different Rest Rooms. To which room you have access, depends on the level you're in. The first one appears when you're between the levels one to five. The second between five to ten. The third between ten to fifteen and the fourth between fifteen to twenty. The higher the restroom, the more luxuries it has."

Axel stretched out his arms lazily when he said, "The second Rest Room has a small television, radio and a nice bath. That's why I want to hurry up and pass level five, blondie." He gave Roxas a suggestive look as he mentioned the bath. Demyx lightly hit the redhead on the back of head, as he scolded, "Don't be such a pervert, Axel." Then the hyperactive man continued his explanation.

"The levels one to five never change. There's only one possibility for each level. You can enter with as many people as you want at the same time. So I'll join you guys for level four and five," Demyx smiled. "From the levels five to ten, each levels has three different possibilities. Meaning, if you enter a level, you don't know which of the three possibilities you'll get. You can enter with a maximum of four people at the same time. So if there are five people in the same level, then four can go towards the same possibility but the fifth one has to enter a different one."

"The levels ten to fifteen have twenty possibilities, and fifteen to twenty seems to have an infinitive amount. That's one more reason why we think there are only twenty levels," Demyx finished.

Roxas was slowly trying to digest all this new information. Why would someone take the time to make such a complex system? "Who made this? Who is keeping us trapped here?"

Axel and Demyx looked at each other with empty smiles. "We don't know, unfortunately," The redhead finally said.

"How long have you been trapped here?"

"Roughly two years. The first six subjects have been here for four years," Axel answered, fixedly looking at his dinner to avoid Roxas shocked gaze. Four years?! The blond paled visibly. I'll never get out of here.

The room was silent until Demyx suddenly spoke up, "So Roxas, why don't you tell us some stuff about Twilight Town. I want to know what's changed." His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, but Roxas knew the mohawked man was trying to lift the mood, so he started talking about the town.

All in all, dinner was interesting. The newest addition was proving to be a very nice, energetic guy and Axel kept shooting Roxas glances which made his stomach twist in a strangely nice way. Well, this explains why I've never been interested in girls before… After eating, they turned to bed early, because they had a busy day ahead of them. Demyx seemed to be looking forward to it, muttering something about finally getting to swim for the first time in ages.

Roxas closed his eyes to sleep, feeling a lot better than yesterday. He might be stuck in some kind of psychological game, but at least wasn't playing on his own anymore.

Day 1462.

Subjects VIII and XIII have passed Level 1 and 2.
Subjects VIII, IX and XIII have passed Level 3.

Subject I has failed at Level 18. I has been relocated to Level 15.
Subject VI has failed at Level 13. VI has been relocated to Level 10.
Subject VII has failed at Level 18. VII has been relocated to Level 15.

Current Level of subjects:
I – 15
II – 17
III – 9
IV – 13

V – 18
VI – 10
VII – 15
VIII – 3
IX – 3
X – 16
XI – 7
XII – 7
XIII - 3

Author's note: The tree in the maze was shaped like the Nobody symbol, by the way.

Okay. I had promised Zexion would appear too, but my own created rules wouldn't allow it. *sweatdrop* He'll appear once they've reached the second Rest Room. Which should be in chapter 4.

(As you can see in the report, if you fail a level, you return to Level 1, 5, 10 or 15, depending which levels you've passed. For example, if you fail at level 13 like Zexy, then you return to 10. He failed for a reason though ;D)

Please review.