RECAP:

? P.O.V.

He didn't look up as I returned. "Did she see you?" he questioned, not bothering with a greeting.

I shook my head. "She saw my portal at the last minute. Judging by her face, I think she assumed it was part of Xemnas's."

He merely hummed in response and went back to his work.

He means a lot to me. But sometimes, I hate him.

STORY STARTS:

Axel's P.O.V.

I leaned against the sun-baked clay of a store. Or was it stone? 'Eh, whatever.' As the morning sun – it didn't make much of a difference – started rising, I gazed at the meagre scatterings of Twilight Town citizens, unfocused on any of them. My mind was preoccupied on what had happened earlier that night. Here's what happened...

I had gone to Raxmi's house. I'd left for Twilight Town at about 1am, but it was only three hours of dawdling later that I actually went there. Call me a stalker, but that girl had been on my mind for the past two weeks. It was getting irritating. But, at the same time, I kinda...liked it?

Well, I know what I'm trying to say. It doesn't really matter if you do.

So, I had gone to her house and looked through the windows until I saw her. She was sleeping. Just looking at her again made me feel something strange inside me. The feeling grew as the seconds ticked by. After a minute or so, I was starting to feel like that creepy vampire what's-his-name – the one that watches Belle sleep – from those damn Twilight movies. Urgh. As I turned away, I had heard something shuffling about her room. "Axel?"

I'd spun around again, and I couldn't help but smile. She looked so sweet, all bedraggled and half-asleep. Pushing the window open as far as the safety latches would allow it, she had stared at me questioningly. "What are you doing here?" she had asked, tilting her head.

I'd smirked, crossing my arms. "Just thought I'd swing by, is all. Why? Not happy to see the perfection that's my face?"

Her eyebrows had furrowed as she processed my words. "Did you stalk my house?" she had asked bluntly.

An awkward feeling had suddenly filled the air. "Stalk is such a harsh word, Raxmi," I had stated smoothly.

She had blinked a little, and then shook her head, as if to clear it. "Can I help you with something, Axel? Or did you just want to watch me sleep?"

'Blunt...must be like this when she wakes up...' I had thought. "No, no. I just thought I'd see if you where awake. To say hey." 'Really? Is that the best you can do, Axel?' I had mentally slapped myself.

Raxmi had nodded slowly. "Well, I'd let you in...but the window's got safety latches and my door is locked from the outside."

She was inviting me inside. Hell yeah. "I can make a portal if you want me t-"

"No!" she had said hastily. "I'm not inviting you in." I had raised my eyebrows in surprise. That was...harsh. For her. "I mean," she had clarified, "if my dad caught you in here, he'd get really annoyed."

My eyes had narrowed. "How annoyed?"

Raxmi had looked surprised, like she hadn't expected me to press further. "He'd just...I guess he'd just ground me or something."

I wasn't buying it. Then – stupid, stupid, stupid! – the next question blurted out of my mouth before I even knew it had crossed my mind. "Does he abuse you?"

A look of shock and anger had settled on her delicate features. "How could you say that?" she had asked, sounding enraged. "No! My dad would never hurt me!"

I had raised my hands in surrender, sorry that I had even mentioned anything. "Hey, I'm sorry, I just assumed –"

"You assumed that my own father would hurt me, even though you hardly know me."

I had pointed a finger at her. "Exactly. You took the words right out of my mouth!" I grinned at her.

The window was shut and the curtains were drawn in response.

So, back to the present. I glared irritation at the sun, which had conveniently decided to rise above a building and blind me.

Something had seemed off. Okay, I don't really have the right to say that. I don't even know her favourite colour. Red, maybe? Anyway. A logical *cough*boring*cough* person like Zexion would say, "This particular female and I are barely acquaintances; it is highly possible that this supposedly erratic behaviour is of common nature to her." Does he read the dictionary for fun?

Well, I don't care. Call it intuition, call it gut instinct. I think – no, I know – that something was different about her. It's possible that she was just grumpy because she had woken up, me accusing her father of abuse probably didn't help. I still can't believe I said that.

I have to think carefully about my next move. It's likely that, after this, she doesn't want to talk to me. 'Judging from the little information that I know about her, I should wait at least until sunset tonight to talk to her aga–'

"Axel!"

My best friend's voice rang out loudly in the Tram Common as he approached me. "What are you doing here? I've been looking all over for you!" Roxas pried, leaning on his knees to catch his breath.

"I went to see Raxmi, thanks to you and Xion bugging me about liking her," I said, half-scowling-half-smiling. "She totally brushed me off, by the way. Thanks."

He shot up at the sound of her name. "When was that?" he demanded. I raised an eyebrow at him. This kid never demands anything.

"Just half an hour ago. Why?"

Confusion filled his eyes. "That's impossible. I just talked to her at The Castle That Never Was an hour ago."

That caught my attention. "How can that be? I just talked to her."

"Well, you must've imagined it! Xemnas has her prisoner in the cells at The Castle!"

Fury built up inside me as I slowly pushed myself off the wall. What kind of sick game is this twisted Organization playing on me? "You mean to tell me that the Superior locked Raxmi in a cell, and I was talking to thin air?" I said, slamming a hand onto the wall that I had been leaning on.

Roxas took a step back; he knows how I get when I'm angry. "I'm not sure who you were talking to, but I know what I saw. She called out to me! I asked her how she got there, but Xemnas came then and ordered me to leave."

"And you just left her there with him?" I growled. Okay, this isn't Roxas's fault, but I gotta have some way of letting my anger out.

Something else crossed my mind. The way Raxmi was acting. I knew it. I knew it wasn't really her! It must've been an illusion, which means...

"Zexion." I clenched my fists. "That motherfu-"

"Set fire to him later," Roxas interrupted, before I could corrupt a small child's ears. He dragged me into an alley, away from the people, and made portal. "Xemnas might still be there, so this will take you to the entrance to the dungeon floors. Don't let him see you."

I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. "No matter how mad you are, you can't take him on. You'd never win, and Raxmi will be stuck. Just get her out of there!"

I shook my head as I stepped into the portal. "You two should just employ me as a full-time hero," I smirked.

A cold, chilly air swept over me when I arrived at the dungeon. I cracked my knuckles as I began stalking down the hallways. Screw their rank or powers – if someone gets in my way now, they're going to have hell to pay.

As I passed the first cell, which was empty, I realized that I had a problem. Roxas told me that Raxmi was in a cell down here, but he failed to mention which cell. There were exactly 130 cells, and she could be in any one of them. I let out a frustrated growl and pounded my fist against the wall, ignoring the immediate aching sensation.

Think, Axel, think. If I were Xemnas or Zexion, whoever it was that took her, which cell would I put her in? I hissed through my teeth and closed my eyes, putting myself in their shoes.

...'Nope. Not gonna work.' Checking each cell will be faster than thinking this through.

10, 20, 30. She wasn't in them. 40, 50, 60. Not there either. 70, 80, 90. I was beginning to wonder if Roxas had sent me on a wild goose chase. By the time I reached Cell No. 94, I had to pause to catch my breath. 'Where is she?'

Tap-tap.

I remained as I was, one hand on the wall, one hand on my hip. Not turning to face the sound, my eyes darted to the side, straining to catch even the smallest movement.

There. A dark shadow shifted ever-so-slightly, to blend in with the other shadows. Someone was definitely there.

I carried on, walking briskly. I only glanced quickly at the cells, which were empty, so that I could keep my gaze on the shadows. This person was definitely following me. It had to be Zexion. He was the best one around here at blending in with his surroundings

After I looked into Cell No. 101, I had made up my mind. I knew Zexion well enough to predict his attacks and defences. He's a higher rank than me, but even if I don't defeat him, I can at least injure him, or confuse him enough to buy me time, enough time to find Raxmi.

Cell No. 102 was approaching as I flung the first fireball in his direction. Zexion immediately slipped out off the shadows, teleporting away. His hood was up, but I knew he was smirking.

I stuck out my arms, letting flame engulf my hands and forearms. They grew into an inferno, spinning and popping, and when it reached its peak, they vanished in flash, leaving me with my beloved chakrams. I lifted my head and returned Zexion's smirk. This'll be fun.

Darkness swallowed up the whole room, eliminating our sense of sight. 'No problem.' I flicked my wrists, lighting up the room with tongues of fire. Now I could see Zexion, standing a few feet away from me, weapon in hand.

Hmm. Interesting. He wasn't wielding his heavy Lexicon. Instead, he held a Keyblade in his hands. "New technique, Zexion?" I commented, twirling my chakrams casually in my grasp.

He waited a moment before replying. "Since when have you been interested in my abilities, Axel?"

I let out a dry laugh. "Never. Just making polite conversation, is all."

Zexion scoffed and charged for me, delivering fast, precise thrusts with his Keyblade replication. I responded instantly, blocking all his attacks with my chakrams. We traded attacks and blows in a set rhythm. He was artful, jumping and dodging the fire, which I was blasting at him randomly. Always the crafty fighter, he would slip behind me in an attempt to catch me off guard, to end this quickly. Unusual. Normally he would drag the fight out. Maybe he has something else up his sleeve.

Minutes ticked by, until I could finally keep my hold on the upper hand. "You really think you can throw me off with that excuse of a replication?" I taunted, winding my chakrams around to lock the Keyblade between them. I tugged at the Keyblade harshly, making him lunge forward as he lost his balance.

A small, almost unnoticeable spark flickered at the tips of my fingers, and it soon spread onto our weapons. It wouldn't burn him, but he didn't need to know that. But, rather than panicking in desperation, like I thought he would, he merely teleported away. I stumbled slightly when the Keyblade vanished, and I began to turn around to find him again. 'When that kid is out of your sight, you're in trouble.'

As if to prove my point, I was forced to freeze in my tracks as I felt something press against my coat. A chakram was held at my throat, another was digging into my spine. Zexion had replicated my own weapons. Sneaky bastard.

I could practically hear smugness radiating off Zexion. "You were saying?" he sneered, jabbing the chakram further into my back, nearly making a hole in my coat.

"If you tear my coat, you're paying for a new one," I chuckled.

Zexion merely let out a 'humph' in response. "Any last words, Axel?" he questioned.

My eyes narrowed. Zexion out to kill? He's not usually the type to spill blood. Why is he guarding Raxmi so fiercely? Unless... "You're not just guarding her, are you?" I stated. "You're trying to protect her."

"W-what?"

Oh, hey, I distracted him. That was unintentional. Sweet. "Don't try to deny it, you have your eye on her, don't you?"

"I – no!"

While he was still coming up with a legitimate response, I flung my head back as far as I could, giving him a hard knock on the head and a facefull of razor sharp spikes. The chakram that had had my neck pinned clattered to the ground as he clutched his eye, dazed and half-blinded. I lurched forward and ignited my chakrams, swinging them at him with precise aim. One of them sliced through his coat at his waist and left a long, scorched rip. Blood slowly started trickling of the wound.

Zexion let out a frustrated noise and started fading away. I knew he wasn't dying; he was just running away. Hah. "You're paying for my new coat, Axel," he mimicked me.

"Don't count on it," I shot back.

"Hmph." He finally left altogether, leaving me alone. I only took a second to catch my breath before taking off again in search of Raxmi.

It was at Cell No. 121 that I heard a sound. It sounded like animal was dying inside one of the cells. "Why did they lock an animal in there?" I muttered, rolling my eyes. I glanced inside to see if it was alright, then did a double-take. "Raxmi!"

Her head shot up, deep green eyes locking with mine. "Axel!" she yelped, running up to the cell door. My hands clasped around hers as she grasped the bars, and a strange jolt went up my arms. 'The hell?'

"Hang on, I'm getting you out of here," I ordered. I portalled into the cell and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to transport us both away. Just before we left, I swung my head around. "Where's the animal?"

She blinked a little. "Animal?"

"The animal that I heard in here, it sounded like it was hurt," I explained in exasperation. I didn't give a shit about any animal, I just knew that she'd want to save the poor thing.

She gasped in shock. "Are you insulting my singing?" she demanded.

'Oh...oops.' "No, no, I just...I thought there..." I racked my brain to find a way out before giving up. "Okay, yes, your singing sounds terrible."

Playful anger lit up in her eyes. "No, it doesn't!"

I smirked at her. "Yes, it does."

She hung her head in shame. "Yeah, I know," she mumbled. I laughed and tightened my grip around her, teleporting away.

? P.O.V.

I arrived back at our base, clutching my eye with one hand and stopping the light flow of blood from the wound that that pyro gave me. I gritted my teeth in irritation as he entered the room and looked me over with a judgemental eye. "He injured you?" he said, like it was a statement and not a question.

"He distracted me," I sighed, unzipping my cloak to examine the wound. "He thought I was Zexion."

He raised an eyebrow. "Did you replicate any of their weapons?"

I nodded in response, still occupied with my wound. At least it wasn't deep; it probably wouldn't even need stitches.

"How many times have I told you to replicate a useful weapon or power, right from the start?" he sighed, rubbing his temple. "It's lucky that you managed to convince him that you were Number Six."

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I lowered my hood. "Can I rest now?" I asked. Today's events had worn me out.

"No," he said shortly. He pulled my arm, not harshly, and led me to the next room. "We need to work on your replication powers."

I scowled. "You can't expect me to have it down perfectly. You only taught it to me two weeks ago, after Xigbar confronted Raxmi. There's no point to it. I can just use my own powers, I don't need this replication mumbo-jumbo," I pointed out.

He shook his head. "All the more reason to practice. Besides, it came in handy today, didn't it? Now, practice Luxord's power." He waved his hand, signalling for me to begin training.

I let out a frustrated growl under my breath, summoning cards around me. All I wanted to do was rest. But at least he wasn't making me practice with Lexaeus's weapon."

"And after that, you can practice with Number Five's weapon."

Shit.

A/N: Woot! And early update! (For me, anyway.) To Wattpad readers: If you didn't read my message that was broadcasted to all fans, please respond to this and comment with your answer this question. Would you like someone else to fall for Raxmi? If so, who? Note that Raxmi probably won't get involved with them, but I have something planned.

In case it was hard to understand, here's a basic summary of what just happened. Axel went to talk to Raxmi (which is what he meant when he said he had something to do at the end of Chapter 8). He realized later that he had talked to an illusion from Zexion. When he went to save Raxmi from the Castle cells, he got in a fight with who he thought was Zexion. But it wasn't actually Zexion. Get it? Yay! ^.^