The first part of the 'Pretude' (on my computer I misspelled prelude). The real first chapter is coming soon, I promise. Please Review and tell me and edword-a-ferd what you think!
"Your mind's made up?" Axel said softly as his friend passed him at Memory's Skyscraper.
"Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."
The redhead moved forward. "You can't turn on the Organization! You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"
Roxas glanced back at him. "No one would miss me."
As the blond began to walk away, Axel clenched his fists. "That's not true!" he hissed between his teeth, sadly releasing his muscles. "I would."
Roxas paused, turning around to face him. "Axel… you… you have a lot of talent."
"So do you! Can't you see that that was the reason the Keyblade wanted you? They want to use you to gain status because you're so good and then they'll abandon you when they get a good fanbase! Roxas, please don't leave the Organization… Don't leave me."
"Don't you realize that Organization XIII is using us the same way? Axel…" he moved back over to his friend, taking his hands. "Come with me. We can escape this band together."
"They'll destroy our reputation."
Roxas smiled. "If you come with me… then they'll fall before they have the chance. Axel, we're the only ones that keep the Organization running. My voice… and your drumming. The only other talent they have is Demyx, and he can't keep the band stable on his own. He can hardly keep himself stable."
"If I go with you… you won't surrender to the Keyblade?" he said softly, pulling Roxas closer.
"We'll find our own calling. Elsewhere. Far away from the Organization and the Keyblade. We'll go somewhere else… together. And when we find a place that we belong in… we'll put our all into it."
"Alright. I'm with you, Roxas. We'll go together."
Shedding their black cloaks that were the symbolic costume to the Organization members, Axel took one last glance at Memory's Skyscraper, the tall neon nightclub being the end of their days as Nobodies… and the beginning of their quest to become Somebodies.
"Roxas, over here! Hurry!" Axel dragged his best friend through the pouring rain to a canopy over a Chinese food place called Destiny Islands. The blond shivered as Axel's arms wrapped around him in an attempt to warm them up. A small bell sounded as the door opened.
"Oh, man! It's raining!" a spiky-haired brunette pouted, stomping his foot on the ground. "I guess Leon's driving…" he took out a cell phone and opened it, noticing a spot of fire-truck-red in the corner of his eye. "Oh?"
Axel rubbed the younger boy's back in an attempt to warm him up, unaware of the dark-blue eyes watching the spectacle.
"Hey! You two are soaked to the bone!"
The two former Organization members flinched at the sudden loud, cheery voice that called out to them. Axel pulled Roxas into a protective embrace. The brunette laughed.
"I'm Sora! Do you guys have anywhere to go or are you just going to stand there in the rain until pigs start flying?" he flashed them a goofy smile.
"W-we d-don't hav-ve an-any-wh-where…" Roxas replied through chattering teeth.
"Sounds good to me!" Sora said happily, hearing a voice on the other end of the phone pick up. "Leon! Bring the van and some towels, 'kay? Thanks!"
Axel raised an eyebrow as the boy closed the phone and just grinned at them until a maroon van drove up to the restaurant.
The door opened and another brunette with a scar across his face looked the sopping wet guys over. He saw the pleading puppy-dog eyes Sora was giving him and sighed. "Whatever. Get in."
Sora gleefully hopped into the car and looked back at Axel and Roxas. "Come on! You can come back with us!"
Axel looked down at Roxas with uncertainty, unsure if he should trust the strangers, but quickly shuffled the borderline hypothermic blond into the vehicle. He had to get Roxas somewhere warm and dry… and a golden opportunity had shown itself in the form of an overly-giddy boy. Axel had no chance but to take it, and hope he could keep Roxas safe from harm if anything happened.
Roxas looked up at him with big eyes and the redhead took a towel from Sora, drying his friend off before working on getting his now-heavily-slicked-back hair to its normal light, unruly spikes. "Axel…" his voice was hoarse, and his face was warm with a climbing fever.
"Sora, right? I… I think he's getting a fever… Roxas, stay with me, okay?" Axel noted that they stopped.
"Okay! Leon, can you bring him in and put him on my bed? Oh, and red-haired guy! Come with me, and we'll make him something warm to eat!"
Unable to argue, Axel complied.
"Where… where's Axel…?" Roxas said, throat scratchy from coughing. He looked up at the scarred brunette. "Mister… is… is he okay…?"
"Call me Leon. He's with Sora. Here. Take this medicine. It will help with that fever. What happened to you two? Just standing out in the rain like that…"
"We… we're trying to get away…" he swallowed the pills. "Before… before they come after us…"
Leon raised an eyebrow. "You two run away? Are you eloping or something like that? Kids these days and their crazy hormone-induced actions…"
"We aren't eloping!" he yelled weakly. "Axel and I… left the Organization… Organization XIII…"
"That band? The one with the black cloaks?"
Roxas nodded.
"You ran away… from a band."
"They'll come after us… I know they will. I don't want to go back… I want to stay with Axel… and sing somewhere else… where we won't be manipulated…"
"Sing… then you're Number XIII?"
Roxas nodded. "And Axel is VIII."
"The drummer, then."
"That's right…" he replied. "But when the Keyblade called for me… I left to find out why they wanted me. Axel intercepted me and we decided to run off together, away from there and those corrupt bands… so we can make music together… and not be used."
"So you ran away with him?"
"I didn't want him to leave, but I didn't want to see him used like a popularity tool. I couldn't imagine being without him, so I followed to keep him safe. We were going to retreat to somewhere far enough away that the Organization wouldn't be able to catch us… and I was going to try and find a better place for Roxas. I don't want anything to happen to him, and I want to see him happy. So I was going to find somewhere for him to sing without becoming a tool for some band to become big."
Roxas opened his eyes, giggling at the peacefully sleeping redhead beside him. "Axel."
He stirred, a warm smile filling his features. "Good morning, Roxy. How's my ray of sunshine feeling?"
"A lot better."
"You scared me with that fever you had. It went on for two weeks," Axel bopped their foreheads together. "That's for making me worried."
The blond looked into his eyes. "I was really sad when I couldn't say your name for a few days. Axel…" he whispered it over and over. "Axel… Axel-Axel-Axel-Axel-axel…"
The elder chuckled, pecking his forehead.
"I'm glad to hear you talking again!" a voice said cheerfully from the doorway. "At least… I think that's you! It's not Axel's voice, and it's not mine, so I'm guessing it's ROXAS!"
The former bandmates suddenly felt the bed bounce. Axel sighed. "Good morning, Sora."
"Hiya!" he replied giddily. "Roxas! Did you know we have a big piano downstairs? Leon said you can play a little! Play for us! Pleeeeeeaaase?"
Baffled, Roxas nodded. "O-okay…"
Thrilled to have his voice back, Roxas sang along as he played.
"Kanashii hodo
Hikaridashita
Shiroi yami,
Kirisaku
Tsubasa ni nare..."
Sora's jaw dropped as he squealed internally with delight. Axel smiled, sitting on the other end of the piano bench and singing the next piece with the blonde.
"Tsumetai taiyou
Ni terasarete'ta
Kainarasareta jiyuu ga atta
Kagami ni
Utsutta
Kiseki no yoru
MASUKU o hazushihajimeta My Soul"
Roxas sang the bridge as Axel watched his lips move, entranced by the beautiful sound produced.
"Kieyuku Fake Light
Umareyuku True Light
Kono te ni..."
Leon blinked, bewildered at the precision of the pair's music. Everything was so perfectly timed, each knowing exactly what to do and when… then flawlessly carrying out their duty.
"Shiroku somaru
Yami tsukinukete..."
"Atarashii
Jidai o
Kizamitsudzukero..."
"Tokihanashita
Kokoro no mama ni..."
"Hateshinaku
Tsudzuite'ku
Byakuya o tobe..."
Roxas smiled at Axel as he held down the final chord, the redhead returning his grin before a round of overly-enthusiastic applause filled the living room.
"That. Was. So. COOL!" Sora bounced up and down.
"Yeah… I wasn't aware you could sing, Axel."
"Well, someone had to before little Blondie joined up. We weren't always Organization XIII. First there were six, then me and Saïx made eight, Dem was nine, Luxord ten, then we got Marley and Larxene. That was twelve… So Roxy made thirteen."
"There was a girl that worked with us for awhile too, her name was Xion."
'I never counted her because I don't really know how to count any higher than thirteen…' Axel thought, really wishing he had actually gone to school as a kid. Xemnas taught you what you needed to know. He was really young when One had taken Lea (his birth name) and Ïsa (Saïx) in. The only schooling he had was how to read and count to the highest number in the Org. Xemnas insisted he didn't need to know anything else but how to play the drums and sing. As a result, Axel despised the concept of math. He felt like it mocked him. Why would you give an equation to someone? Just tell them what f*cking number you're looking for! 'Roxas is always really good with numbers…'
Leon nodded. "Nonetheless, it was astounding. What was that song titled?"
"Byakuya True Light," Roxas said softly.
Sora hopped out of his seat in resolution. "It's settled! I'm going to start a band! And Roxas and Axel will be in it!"
The second brunette hummed in approval. "I think that's a great idea. You'll do well."
"I'm not convinced."
All four others looked to see a spiked-up platinum-blond man in nothing but a towel.
"Ah! Roxas, shield your eyes!" Axel covered Roxas' face with his hand.
Sora shielded his own eyes, peeking out from between two fingers. "Hi, Cloud."
Leon stared at Cloud, mouth agape and face red. "Cloud…"
Axel glared at the newcomer. "Who are you and why are you naked?"
"My name is Cloud… and why aren't YOU naked?"
"You're alright," the redhead stood and put an arm over Cloud's shoulder.
*Author's Note: (Instant Friends!)*
"Cloud, that's Axel, and the blond at the piano is Roxas. Roxas, Axel, this is Cloud."
Leon opened and closed his mouth, unable to form words. Cloud smiled at him. "Did you miss me?"
"Y-yeah…" he replied. "It's been awhile… Why are you here? I thought you left town…"
"Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"No!"
"Well, I came back because my job is done out there, and since I don't have a house here anymore and I still have a key and clothes at your place, so I figured I may as well. I heard the music when I was washing my hair and I came down to check it out."
"You're always welcome here."
Sora piped in cheerily. "Welcome home, Cloud!"
Roxas was playing a song called Traverse Town while the others conversed. He glanced at Axel, who was very close to Cloud already. 'It looks like this is where we're going to settle down then… When Axel starts making friends, that means he's set to stay.'
"Sora, it's been awhile. You've gotten taller. You'll outgrow Squall at this rate~" Cloud teased.
"It's LEON. Don't think you can get away with calling me Squall just because you're cute."
"But I can!" Cloud smirked.
"Don't think it, though."
Axel chuckled. "So you aren't impressed by Roxy and me?"
"Sora jumps to decisions too quickly. He should at least have a formal audition. Honestly, Leon, teach that boy how to think things through!"
"I thought it was a good idea too."
"You're just as bad as him, then…" Cloud sighed in defeat.
Sora was inspecting Roxas' face. "We could be cousins! We look a lot alike, don't you think? Only our hair is different!"
Axel blinked at the distracted comment. "Sora, shouldn't you be defending your plan?"
"I'll call you 'my cousin Roxas'! Yeah!" he declared.
Roxas slammed his hand down on a sour note, making everyone jump and fall silent.
"So from what I can gather, Axel and I will audition for Sora's band. We can put up posters this week and hold auditions next Tuesday and Wednesday. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to practice."
Everyone murmured agreement to the plan, and Axel sat beside Roxas while the rest scooted out of the living room. "Roxy."
"What is it?" he replied as he played the notes for World is Mine.
"You're cute when you're focusing on not killing me for bugging you while you practice. Don't you think we should sing together as a part of the audition? We've never performed in singing together. We love to sing together, so don't you think we should give it a try? This could be good for us."
"You think so?"
Axel nodded. "We should do it. I know we sing great together. We shouldn't let this opportunity pass us by. Roxas, I love singing with you, and this is a possibility for that to happen at an actual performance."
"…okay. We'll sing together at the audition. But practice makes perfect, and we need to do really well. I think I have the perfect song in mind…"
Songs:
Byakuya True Light – D. N. Angel
World is Mine – Vocaloid: Project Diva
