Author's Note: (.-.) i'm hanging upside down, in case you can't tell...
the reason for this delayed update is a complicated one. if you follow me on deviantArt, the reason should be already known to you. if you stalk me on livejournal, the reason should also be already known to you. as for those of you who just stalk me here, i'll make this as brief as i possibly can:
these past two weeks have been full of sadness, abandonment and most of all betrayal. it's been difficult to remain here these past few days, reason being that i, along with many of my classmates, have lost a best friend. he was a teacher, he was a mentor and he was a father figure to a majority of us for nearly five years. he resigned last week and just this week the reason for his departure was announced to us. this reason was unreal...and it is because of that that i have not been feeling inclined to write, let alone do homework very well these past weeks.
for this i must apologize. i know that such happenings should not get in the way of my personal life or my school life, but this is virtually impossible to ignore. people say, "move on, move on", but to say that is just rude and improbable.
so please try to bear with me, and please try to understand that right now is a very hard time to be living in...for all of my girls. i love them all dearly, and i dedicate this chapter to them all. may you all find solace and please never forget that we will always be here for each other...
Chapter 10: Betrayal
At first, the looks that Roxas got in return for his strange answer really did make him smile in amusement. On the other side of the coin, what he'd just done was anything but worth smiling for. Him? The captain? What had he gotten himself into? If the image was unbelievable to himself then the odds of the soldier believing the same was slim. Axel seemed to agree with Roxas—his lips were moving slightly and in doubt as if he was searching for the right words and how to say them.
The truth was: there wasn't much that Axel could say now. He'd been too late to respond...and in the end Roxas had the last word. A first for the captain, no doubt. So Roxas wondered, was Axel in disbelief at being upstaged by a cabin boy or was he truly baffled by his strange ploy? He'd never seen Axel so silent. In sleep, yes, but never awake. He tried not to shiver and give away his identity while he took a step closer toward the iron door. The soldier watched intently and leaned closer with his eyes squinted.
"You, hm?"
Roxas scoffed and crossed his arms. That's it. Play the part. "Does it offend you?"
The soldier looked taken aback. "Offend me?"
"Clearly I don't level up to your standards for a captain, let alone a pirate."
The man grumbled something to the side and with one hand grabbed the lock that hung from the door and shook it as he reached for the key in his pocket. "I haven't a single doubt that you are a pirate, but I will admit that to hear this strange confession so soon and without a struggle is making me curious. So, you will need to enlighten me," he mumbled as the key slid in and the lock came free, "sir."
It felt like an eternity before the door swung open just enough for Roxas to squeeze thorough. Of course the man wouldn't let it open further for Axel to fit. This world was filled with idiotic paranoid freaks. He stood before the open door and as he waited instructions he watched a little black spider crawling at his feet. Yes, he still smiled, but his eyes were so distant now.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked quietly to cover his shaking voice.
At once, the man grabbed the chains that bound Roxas' wrists together and hooked a chain extender to the center so that he could be dragged along where ever the man took him. At first Roxas swallowed and stared at the rusted chains with regret. Why, oh why did he have to get into this mess? He shook his head on the thought and as the soldier tugged at the chain he held back a grimace and took a moment to look over his shoulder.
There was Axel, holding onto two iron bars as if his life depended on them and his eyes searched the ground for an answer. Whether Roxas would be able to tell Axel anything was uncertain. He wasn't even sure what the hell he was doing. Yes, he was saving the real captain. But at what cost? At what cost? It was with that burning question that their eyes finally met and Roxas felt like melting into the floor.
Roxas, Axel mouthed.
Don't say anything, Roxas replied as he shook his head. As he drifted further away from the cell, he saw the captain leaning against the bars to get a better look. Seeing Axel moving farther and farther away was causing Roxas to forget that he was supposed to be a captain now. With Axel in the room, the boy felt secure, ironically. His chain rattled, his breathing hitched...and quickly Axel took notice...
"Now hold on."
Just as the redhead had said it, Roxas began to breathe again and the man leading him stopped.
"What's that?" the man asked gruffly.
"What're you gonna do with me?"
"Huh, you pirates are nothing but a lot of masochists, aren't you?"
Axel clicked his tongue and lazily let his right hand go limp through the bars. Roxas, with his back turned to the man, forced his expression to change from a snarky captain to a once again worried-out-of-his-skull-get-me-the-hell-out-of-here cabin boy. Dammit, this was his plan not Axel's! He knitted his eyebrows skeptically.
"Masochists? Are you saying that you'll torture him then?" Axel asked quite calmly.
"Honestly, captain, can't you keep your own men quiet? You think you can rule a democracy on the open seas, ey? A joke! Nothing but a joke!" As the man chuckled to himself, Roxas felt the chains tighten while he was being tugged onward past the rows of jail cells. Funny. There were no skeletons and key-bearing dogs around like in the stories...
"Oy! I'm still over here!" Axel yelled. What in the hell was he doing?! Roxas stamped his foot and spun around in frustration.
"Do you want to get killed?!" he spat.
"Hey, that's enough now, come on. You dawdle and you'll be shot, both of you."
"Why aren't I allowed to stay with the rest of the crew?" Axel whined, pressing his back up against the bars and arching it as if he were uncomfortable. "It doesn't sound fair."
"Fair?" Roxas hissed. Strangely, the existence of the other man in the room was gone to Roxas. In fact, the very environment in which the three stood was beginning to melt into oblivion. Was this what it felt like to be an angry captain? Axel's eyes sparkled as they opened, stared blankly at the ceiling and then drifted down the hall to stare at the blonde. Strange how he appeared lonely now—weak and lonely. It was with that stare that Roxas began to think that, possibly, Axel was feeling abandoned and insecure, as improbable as it seemed. Regardless, there was a certain gleam in Axel's green, lethal eyes that hinted something wrong...and Roxas didn't like it.
Not. One. Bit.
"Well, since you're so keen on knowing..."
Suddenly, Roxas' eyes widened at the man's voice resounding in the room once more and his arms stiffened. Like backing out of a trance. He didn't turn back around to face his captor speaking to the two of them.
"Another one of the men will be here shortly to take you to the execution platform as well. Now, would that be fair?" With no reply from Axel—as he was still too busy looking at Roxas to pay attention to the death threat—the man cackled wholeheartedly and with one painful tug brought Roxas back into step behind him. Roxas' neck hurt from being forced forward, but he wouldn't complain.
He merely held back a whine, shut his eyes and smiled to his feet.
"Looks like I win, Axel."
It was time to escape.
xxXXxx
"Look here! Here I've got your captain!"
All eyes directed toward Roxas the second the soldier had announced their arrival. By all eyes Roxas meant all eyes—townspeople: men, women, children and even the roaming chickens were glaring at him through wet and stabbing eyes. Well, this was a great warm welcome now wasn't it? All time froze as soon as the blonde had set foot into the light of a few torches left untouched by the damage of the fire.
The man had led Roxas through maze after maze after maze in the town, past charred buildings and dead bodies, past hordes of soldiers until suddenly the buildings appeared normal again. Axel should've known better than to invade a town so huge...
He nearly growled about it, but after being threatened with the backend of a rifle from a passing soldier, thought otherwise. This square was much cleaner than the first with stone buildings rather than wood ones surrounding a beautiful fountain with ivy climbing up the edges. Oddly enough, placed beside such a pretty fountain and inside such a pretty place...was yet another execution platform—complete with three stakes used for lovely killing methods such as stabbing, burning and the occasional suffocation. How pleasant.
This must've been the rich district, no doubt.
Once the two neared the stairs leading up to the stakes, Roxas spotted the crew—all of them lined up side by side to face the crowd as if to provoke self-humiliation. When he looked hard enough, he saw that only Demyx and the blonde female with the short hair were peeking at him—Demyx showing shock and the girl showing utter confusion. All their wrists were bound at their backs with rope and around their necks were thick ropes tied to resemble a noose.
"I figure having you disposed of first will be better suited for your crew," the man said as he spun around and directed Roxas toward the middle stake with a cock of his head. "You see him, pirates? Your captain about to stare death in the face! Hah!"
He'd said it so loudly that the crowd began to clap and cheer. Some chanted words of death that Roxas couldn't understand while others booed and swore like a bunch of drunken sailors. As he was unchained and tied to the middle stake, Roxas spotted even members of his—or rather Axel's—crew turned around to watch with an array of emotions on their faces.
"But he's not—!"
"Shh! They'll hear you..."
"It's a sacrifice we have to make..."
Soldiers blocked the alleys that led into the square by the tens until there was no possible way for someone to enter or leave the scene. Some soldiers took to the rooftops with their long rifles drawn toward the sky.
Something about it all made Roxas laugh...
The blonde lowered his head to avoid getting caught chuckling to himself even though he was sure that the soldier tying him to the stake could hear him anyway. At once his left cheek fell numb and prickly as the soldier slapped his face with a firm hand. To his dismay, Roxas yelped and bit on his lower lip, causing the skin to break and a thin line of bright blood to trickle down the side of his chin.
Half the crowd laughed at the sight while the others merely gasped in sheer horror. Did that mean that some people here had sympathy for Roxas?
"Mm..." he mumbled in the back of his throat. Another blow came only this time in landed in the form of a fist into his stomach. Unable to move much more than his head, Roxas had to endure and his mouth hung open as the punching continued along with the cheering and the pain.
"This goes to show that all you pirates are nothing but talk! Complete myth is what you are! Can you believe it? A pirate can bleed after all!"
Breathing heavily, Roxas slumped forward and felt the sweat rolling down his face. His vision was becoming blurred not only from the intense heat arising but also the loss of blood and absence of nourishment in his body. How long would he be able to keep this act up if all he looked like was a weak slave?
Oh well...being a captain had been fun while it lasted...
"I—" Roxas choked on blood and coughed before he could finish his sentence. The man took a step back and scoffed while the boy perished.
"You're all nothing but arrogant little pests."
"Huh. Pests...are we?" Roxas replied without looking up.
"But I do have to hand it to you, captain, for holding on for so long. It seems so long ago that we got word from Leon that you had attacked his town and set sail. And here you are."
Instantly, Roxas' world stopped on that single word. Leon? As in...Leon from The Isles? His home? This couldn't—it wasn't possible. Leon was dead! The townspeople were dead! Sora was dead! All of them, nothing was left! Roxas had been there when the damn town was set aflame! But here he was supposed to believe that it was nothing but an illusion? Was that what he was hearing from this man?
The blonde's head rose slowly and with his lips wet and parted he stared the solider straight in the eyes. In the man's hand was a pistol directed at his chest and when he looked around there were at least five men surrounding the platform with their rifles directed in the same way. He swallowed and curled his toes in his boots nervously.
"Death by shooting. Pray that the first strikes you in the heart that you might not feel the rest."
"Tell me," Roxas nearly shouted at the man, "are you saying that Leon's still alive?"
"Still alive? I hardly think he concerns you any—"
"He does!" Roxas interrupted, trying to move his arms at the same time. "I mean...my crew made a move to end his life. He should be dead by now." He had to be sure not to give away his identity as the fake captain...all for the sake of Axel living, which was the hardest part to grasp.
The soldier tapped the trigger on the gun impatiently. "Oh did you now? Seems fate favors him over you, doesn't it?"
Roxas smirked in spite of himself. "So you say."
"How do you mean? You honestly feel fate is on your side even as you stand under the eyes of six bullet ranges?"
"Hm. Yes. I do."
"And why is that?"
"...The odds of those bullets missing a major part of my body is rather high, sir. I have to be honest with you."
The soldier stood in silence with this pistol still raised. Suddenly the crowd and the crew watching followed his example. Roxas went on.
"Do you really put enough trust in the men that you have? Do you trust that every single one of them will direct a bullet at me? Do you trust that the bullet will fly in the correct manner, in the right place?"
"I have all faith in these men," the soldier replied defiantly.
Roxas rolled his eyes. "Then we're one in the same, aren't we? You trust yours just as I do mine."
No response.
"See, maybe we're stupid men, hm? To be throwing trust around like gold? When you asked me in my cell if I were the captain, why didn't you bother to consider him?" 'Him' obviously pertaining to Axel...
Still no response.
"Did you trust me then, mate?" How awkward it felt to say that word. "Did you trust that he wasn't the captain instead, perhaps? And to have me here on this stake! I take it that you trust that I won't escape! Am I right to say that you trust me, sir?"
"What madness is this?"
"Hardly, sir," Roxas chuckled, gliding the tip of his tongue against the bloody cut on his lip. "You offend me in saying so."
"So now I offend you, is that it? Captain, I fail to see the similarities between you and I that could make us one in the same as you say. Unlike you, I save my trust for those deserving of it, not for someone I've just picked up from an uncharted island." The man chuckled and for a second lowered the silver pistol down to his waist. Roxas watched him, his entire body on the verge of snapping in two.
"What did you suppose you would gain from stealing one, one boy from Leon's town? Was it greediness that influenced you?"
Roxas didn't respond and instead lowered his eyes to the floor of the platform. Hearing the man's words made him think too much...about himself. So now he wondered again what had exactly influenced Axel to take one body from Leon. What could he do to save his life? How could he save a life? He realized that, at the moment, tied to this stake, he was indirectly saving Axel...but for how long, he didn't know.
"...Where is the boy?"
The blonde snapped out of this train of thought and looked off to his right, hoping that there would be a path out of this place. This was bad. He had to come up with another fib. Stall, stall...
"And if I told you?" he asked, smugly. That probably wasn't the brightest answer since the man just raised the pistol again and began to bare his teeth in anger.
"I've had enough," he spat. "If all you give me are games—arms at the ready!"
The five that had their rifles directed at Roxas responded loudly to the man and were accompanied by an uproar of cheers and incoherent blathering from the crowd. But, just as the bullets were loaded, the aims perfected and Roxas' heartbeat increased, the boy spotted in the corner of his eye a place in the crowd at his left that was beginning to part as if making way for someone. He followed the movement until the one making way showed their face.
While he couldn't see the face, hearing the excited voice of Demyx was all he needed to picture the person.
"Ah! Sir!"
"Sir?" Roxas whispered as he attempted to crane his neck to see over the waves of people. If Demyx gave away Axel's identity, this little plan would be all for nothing.
"The other one, sir. Just as you asked."
Without looking over his shoulder, the soldier facing Roxas smiled evilly and nodded his head in approval. "Perfect. Another witness. Tell me! Why is it your crew refers to him as 'sir' and not you, captain?"
Roxas opened his mouth to speak, only to have a strange shaking moan escape instead. That obviously didn't work to his advantage since the man began to laugh and, for the hell of it, sent one bullet a mere nudge from Roxas' foot. Roxas' leg twitched when the bullet struck the floor and left a hole where it pierced the platform. He shook his head and, sweating terribly, looked up and began to laugh almost maniacally.
"Would you honestly shoot the boy that you promised you'd return to Leon?! Are you about to kill me?!"
At once, the soldier's eyes dilated, his lips parted and with his free hand, signaled to the others to hold their fire. Immediately the rifles rose toward the sky and the men wielding them stepped back in shock. The crowd cut their rejoicing and rather than jumping and prattling amongst themselves as if they were at a festival, several began to look around in worry while the rest either began to scream or try and hide themselves behind crates and barrels.
"What?" the soldier asked, dumbfounded amongst the chaos taking place. Roxas panted and licked the blood away from his lip again before replying:
"I'm the prisoner you want."
The man shook his head and began to stare around him, disregarding Roxas' words. So maybe they weren't interested in Roxas being kidnapped at all? "Then where in the bloody hell is the captain?! Damn!" Huh. Some welcome that turned out to be for Roxas. All but the crew was in frenzy—the members simply stood there looking up at the boy in what Roxas took as either respect or pity. It was difficult to tell...
But as far as he was concerned, they were safe for the time being...
...And then, oh, how the night became more satisfactory...
"Excuse me, sir..."
"Don't speak to me! Go search for the da—!" Without completing his order, the man had just begun to turn around to face the owner of the voice only to be attacked from what Roxas could see. Instantly, the soldier hunched over his feet and his pistol fell from his grasp as he clutched at his stomach in agony. The blonde could see dark red staining the spotless floor and knew at once that this man had just been stabbed...and surely killed.
To support his theory, Roxas looked up, gasped and took notice of someone standing before the dying man with a bloody short-blade in his right hand. He nearly called out to the person—who was clad in the soldier's navy suit—but after spotting the absence of frilly lace and proper boots, Roxas knew that this was certainly not the official that been sent to take Axel from his cell.
"How I love a good game of dress up." With that said the killer grabbed the hat atop his head and tossed it into the crowd of people who were stampeding over one another and begging for their lives. With the hat gone, Roxas breathed a sigh of relief...
Axel was alive.
Those familiar eyes first looked around the platform nonchalantly as if they were inspecting nothing but the tide rolling in and out. Then, they drifted toward Roxas' feet...and from there proceeded to climb the boy's legs and up, up, up the boy's beat and bloody figure. Roxas shivered, the crew cackled though they were unaware of the stare, and finally Axel was looking right at him with his trademark smile and a cock of his head.
"Imagine all the fun we'd've missed if you hadn't skipped ashore..." Axel chuckled and bent over the edge of the platform so the tip of the blade could reach the rope that bound his crew members' wrists. In one slash, he cut free three, five, and finally the remaining captives...all but Roxas, that is.
"Ah-ha! I knew you wouldn't fall back, cap'n!" Roxas heard Xigbar cackle.
"No one beats our captain!" The girl.
"No one puts 'im behind bars! Never!" Luxord, Demyx, Xaldin...
Axel crossed his arms and conceitedly smirked down at his crew praising him at his feet. What a bastard...and yet he was a hero in their eyes. At first he paused to let them finish chanting his name until finally, as his duty, he shot out the last order that this town would hear of:
"Burn it all."
"Burn it all!" they repeated. "Fire, fire!" they sang.
Amidst the confusion—the random gunshots, the crying and the strange combination of cold and warm air brushing past his body—Roxas felt alone. In reality, this was the moment he'd been waiting for since he'd left the cell. If he cut himself loose, he could escape...But to escape from this place could mean death. If he wouldn't be killed from one of the crew members, if not killed by Axel, then at least he'd be killed by the stampede.
But despite all these thoughts of running away and death, Roxas couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to the back of the captain. Axel's head was tilted and turned in such a way that made the burning blaze before him seem beautiful. The destruction and screaming had vanished and were nothing but dust in Roxas' mind. Instead, he saw red, and instead he saw Axel's face.
Rather than fear, the boy felt comfort.
But he knew, deep down, while he did feel protected, that feeling was just a false sense of security. Axel was not security. He was not there with open arms nor was he there for words of encouragement for the confused boy. No, no, Axel was just...evil.
While something horrible struck Roxas' chest on that thought, he tried to hold his breath to keep the rising smoke from suffocating him and turned his head every which way to look for an escape route. Dizzy and already near fainting, he blinked several times and even tried to weaken the rope that kept him tied to the stake by dragging it against the post. Grumbling to himself, he thought back to the gun that he'd used to try and shoot the cuffs clean off of his wrists back when he'd joined the crew. But would it work? And even if it would—
,But where to find a gun?
Where to find a gun?
All the while people were shouting: "Burn it all! Burn it all!"
Roxas knew he had to hurry...and then he spotted Axel again. Perhaps...it was worth a shot. Again, no pun intended.
Gathering what was left of his strength, Roxas cleared his throat and called out to the captain who was surveying the destruction with his back turned toward the three stakes.
"Sir! Sir!" he repeated over the flames. It took a while before finally Roxas got through to the thick headed captain and managed to get him to turn around. His eyes were narrowed as if before sleep and his arms were crossed over the navy uniform.
Roxas had to say that navy just wasn't Axel's color...not at all.
He shook his head and motioned for the captain to come closer by nudging his head. His bangs moved away from his eyes when he did and it seemed enough to get Axel to walk toward him. He looked...content by the time he'd reached Roxas' stake, eying the boy's face with such deep interest that it made Roxas' skin tingle. The blonde's blue eyes scanned the captain briefly for any signs of a gun...
Axel cocked his head to the right and parted his lips in thought. "Yes?"
Roxas tried to go with the flow and furrowed his eyebrows. "Release me."
The redhead blinked slowly and with his eyes shut he turned his head up to the darkening, smoky sky. Roxas honestly thought he looked at peace that way. Strange. "Roxas, Roxas..." Axel muttered to the sky. Roxas' body fell limp against the stake.
"What'm I to do with you?" With that said, Axel once again lowered his eyes and brought one hand behind him. Roxas watched that movement closely until finally he spotted another of Axel's pistols being loosely held in the redhead's right hand. At first he was elated. He'd found a way to escape! But as the pistol rose and the end was aimed between Roxas' eyes, his breathing hitched and he began to rethink his plan.
He swallowed and tried his very best not to look at the gun, but rather into Axel's eyes. If he wanted to escape, he had to keep eye contact with him. Just a little closer and he'd be home free...
His lips curved slightly when the gun rose and Axel looked back down from the sky. "Kill me?"
"Don't think I won't do it."
"Your voice tells me you'd rather not."
"Now's not the time to be messing with me, Roxy." Axel chuckled to the side and with his thumb pulled down he trigger in the back of the gun to load a bullet. As expected, the boy twitched. How. Cute. How. Cute. With all this screaming and ruckus floating about them, Axel had quite forgotten what it was like to admire this little...prize, shall we say, of his. People always looked the best when they were confused or threatened.
Longing to see Roxas' reaction, Axel slowly moved the end of the gun closer to the boy's forehead until the tip was grazing the wet bangs hanging over his face. He dragged it to the left and pushed the golden locks away to reveal emptiness...and determination in Roxas' eyes.
Oh, he was planning something, alright.
Then, as the flames surrounding the two began to lick and engulf the base of the platform, the captain, as wicked and impulsive as those flames, thrust his hand out, took a step forward and cupped the blonde's chin with his shooting hand. He'd dropped the gun and sent it sliding across the platform with his foot. Seeing Roxas' eyes flare and spark with that action made Axel smirk. He'd just diminished the boy's plot, hadn't he?
"Why should I..." he purred, his head lowering to the boy's height, "trust you? After that little fiasco back there after all..."
Roxas' sweat was beginning to drip in bullets down his cheeks and into the curves of his neck. With his shirt torn and left to expose a majority of his torso, he knew that running through the fire now would be fatal. He'd be burned, yes, and more than likely killed if he didn't leave soon. And, dammit all, Axel had to ruin his plan! Think fast, think fast...
But before he answered the question, Axel had ducked his head and brought his lips right beside Roxas' right ear. He shivered upon contact and was forced to listen with his eyes staring directly forward.
"You want to escape?" Axel whispered right into the boy's ear. Roxas didn't respond, and when he didn't Axel scoffed and gently brushed his lower lip against his jaw line. "You'll run to the shore where I found you before...understand?"
Roxas shut his eyes and with furrowed eyebrows nodded. All he could hear was the captain's voice...nothing more, nothing less. The feeling he had was not his. He felt controlled, overpowered, and more than anything he felt like a puppet on a thin string. Axel's voice came over him like smoke, like music, and upon entering his mind it rattled his thoughts and left his body completely inoperative...
"Good. From there, I'll find you again. And from there we'll find our way back to the ship. You and me?" The question was what forced Roxas' eyes open wide. While he couldn't yet understand what Axel was trying to say, he nodded anyway and soon found himself standing there in the middle of the fire, his wrists freed from the wooden stake. In the midst of Axel's whispering, he's somehow untied the knot that bound Roxas to the stake, and freed him.
"Go," the redhead ordered, flippantly turning his back on the boy as he put a hand on a sword belonging to one of the soldiers. "Ugh. These things are horrendous weapons, ey?"
"I—"
"Now, now. I'll find you. Honestly, Roxas, don't you ever listen to the captain anymore?"
"Captain..." the blonde muttered and once he had his head on straight, he looked up to see Axel running off down the stairs—cackling like the bastard he knew he was.
"You make a fine captain, Roxas. But, I do have to be honest with you..." Axel withdrew the sword from its sheath and glanced over his shoulder to say, "...You can never outrank me, mate. Hmhm."
xxXXxx
"Another win for the captain, ey?"
"'Nother win for us, more like it."
"Haven't had an adventure li' that one since I last joined this ship!"
"You says it right!"
Roxas was the last to board the ship that night, or rather early that morning once all the pillaging and such had ended. He'd successfully made way to the shore with little damage done to his body. Yes, he had a few scrapes and burns, but the pain was what he'd learned to adapt with already. Sadly enough...
He'd waited impatiently beside the tide, pacing and kicking sand into the air as he awaited the arrival of the captain as he'd been told to do. All the while the town had burned and he never saw a single person running out of the town for the shore. Either they were all stupid or they just lost their way.
Possibly an hour passed before the female member exited the smoke and right at her heels were half of the crew, covered in ashes from head to toe and smiling out of their wits. Each of them had a story to tell the other—how they'd killed one woman, how they'd stolen from one man...how proud they felt for following such great orders.
He'd sat there, avoiding eye contact with the others to the best of his ability, before a familiar voice broke the chattering and nonsense behind him. He didn't look, barely moved a muscle as the crew praised and shouted the captain's name over and over and over again. Amazing how much they adored him...
He always thought crew members hated their leaders...
With a groan and with his ribs horribly bruised from all the recent activities, Roxas pulled himself up on the deck and propped himself up against the wooden edge. He laid his legs out before him and rolled his head back so that it was resting properly. Demyx and Luxord had gone on to light a few lanterns on deck seeing as a light fog was beginning to roll in over the desolate shore. He felt he should be helping, but seeing as he wasn't being scolded, stayed put at rest.
"Well, well. 'Bout time we had a little scare, ey?"
At first, the blonde peeked through his heavy eyes at the sound of Axel's voice and after spotting him standing atop a barrel of gunpowder in the center of the deck, he sat upright and paid close attention to the announcement being made.
Several of the members gave 'hear hear' as their reply while, as expected, Luxord and Xaldin kept to themselves. Axel cupped his chin as he looked down upon his men, basking in his glory yet again.
"Oh, so you were scared?"
"No, never, sir!" the girl replied with a flick of her wrist. Roxas watched as she stretched her fingers out and coyly placed them upon the captain's left ankle. The redhead responded by looking down at her and raising an eyebrow.
"Really, Larxene?"
The blonde girl used her other hand to squeeze excess water from his hair as she chuckled to the side. "Not I."
A second passed before some of the men responded with the same words. Honestly, Roxas thought, were these men only interested in sucking up to people for a living? It was pitiful. He crossed his arms over his chest after he'd stood up from his spot. Somehow he felt a little left out of the circle of praise. After all, he'd been the one who'd posed as the captain. He deserved some credit!
"Ah, but without me there you were all near giving up, huh?" Axel shook Larxene's hand away with his foot and afterward lowered his body so that he was sitting upon the barrel instead. The crew eyed his movement obediently and said nothing. Axel simply scoffed to himself and looked around at each of them as he laughed.
"Tell me!" he shouted. "Tell me I'm right, come on!"
No one responded. And as intimidated as Roxas was, he inched closer toward the scene until he was barely touching the light emitting from the lanterns hanging on the posts around Axel's body. Strange how Axel wasn't looking at him...
"Hah! How pa-the-tic the lot of you are! Without your dear darling captain, where would you be!? I'll tell you where. You'd all be without work, without purpose and without the luxuries that being a pirate can bring you!" Where had this rant come from? Larxene stepped back as Axel got up from the barrel and kicked at it with his foot, causing it to fall on its side and roll away down the deck. Roxas watched Demyx stupidly avoid it before looking back to see Axel pacing around with his arms crossed.
He certainly was not pleased.
"See, I gave all of you, huh..." He jutted one finger out and pointed at some of the members accusingly. "I gave all of you a chance to live again, and what do you do? Betray me."
"Sir—" Xaldin muttered before in one swift movement Axel slapped him across the face. Roxas covered his mouth to avoid gasping.
"Don't deny that, Xaldin."
"...Yes, sir," Xaldin replied and, ignoring the pain in his cheek, turned his head back to face his leader.
At once Axel pushed the other off to the side as if he didn't exist and went on pacing in the dimmed, orange light. He'd rid of the silly navy uniform and instead stood upon his ship with his usual attire—the black vest and all. Under the light Axel's body seemed brighter and the black on his body contrasted with the bit of the moon sinking below the horizon. Roxas found himself stepping closer into the light...and once he had, the captain's eyes shot forward and locked onto him like a predator.
As his body stiffened, Roxas held his breath and waited for Axel's next move...just waited.
"...Did you succumb to greed, Roxas?" the captain suddenly asked, stepping closer to the boy with one foot crossing over the other at a very slow pace. Roxas' eyes shifted around him at the staring crew and he suddenly felt very hot under the spotlight.
"I...don't believe so, sir."
"Mm. You mean to tell me that you didn't fight the urge to come ashore?"
"Well, I—"
"And I can recall specifically me telling you not to touch shore after Blue, hm?"
"You never gave me a reason not to!" Roxas retorted, stepping closer. He heard scattered gasps around him but disregarded the people anyway. This was between him and Axel now.
"Oh, no?"
"Not at all, sir! Not a damned thing!"
"You can't talk t—!"
"Keep out of the conversation, Luxord, thank you," Axel angrily ordered to Luxord as he walked up behind the boy and nearly sent a slap to the back of his head. The man backed away in defeat and remained silent in the dark part of the deck.
Roxas and Axel were nearly two feet away from each other now, slowly circling around and around while the talking resumed. It seemed rather awkward for Roxas, to be arguing with someone with higher power than he would even hope to have, but if Axel was willing to touch Roxas and, yes, fuck him, then he could damn good jolly well hold an argument!
"I apologized to you, didn't I?"
"Apologies are useless to a pirate, Roxas," Axel replied with a low voice, freezing in place in front of both Xaldin and Luxord—more than likely the two were his greatest asshole bodyguards on deck. Roxas stopped as well in front of Xigbar, the shooter, who had remained unusually silent since the escape from shore had begun. He expected him to be whooping and searching for rum by now...
Shaking his head, Roxas took a step closer once more. "Then tell me what isn't. And more importantly, tell me what I did from setting foot on shore. Tell me that!"
It was Axel's turn to shake his head. His eyes shut and his head lowered down toward the floor. At once the ship fell into silence with nothing but the sound of waves and the last bit of fire crackling in the distance to keep the crew awake. More waiting...more silence...when at last the silence was broken and Roxas felt something cold touch the front of his neck.
"What?" he asked in shock, grasping the arm that had suddenly wrapped around the front of his neck. He couldn't look down to see who had grabbed him from behind, seeing as what felt like a knife was being pressed close to his skin.
"Xigbar!" Roxas' shaking eyes looked across the deck at Axel, his fists clenched and his eyes burning as he eyed the man holding Roxas close. The blonde groaned and was immediately shut up once the tip of the blade cut into the side of his neck. "Drop the boy, Xigbar!"
"Hahaha! Tell me why I would, captain, sir. I think I need answers just like the little one here! Isn't that right, boys?"
"Hm?" Before Axel had the chance to order Xigbar around again, two clicks were heard, two more before both Xaldin and Luxord raised their pistols and shoved the ends directly into both of Axel's sides. At once, Roxas' heart near froze. Was he seeing this correctly? Both of them were being threatened...and Axel was being threatened by his best men. It wasn't adding up...It just wasn't adding up!
"I know what this boy is to you, sir. And, as far as I'm concerned, he would be your weak point..."
...From there, the dagger drew blood.
to lose a best friend is a terrible feeling. time alone cannot heal the wounds that need to be mended. time alone cannot dry the tears that have been shed and time alone cannot undo the damage that has been done.
hugs, kisses and words of comfort alone are not enough to support the ones who are falling apart. there are certain things in this world that cannot be fixed on a whim, that cannot be rebuilt overnight. this feeling of betrayal is one of them. we've been left alone, expected to cope with these burdens and this loss...
no one knows when we will heal, and one person will never be able to come out of this alone. we need each other. we need our good health, our good minds and our hearts to guide one another. though the ones we love are gone, and what they've done is unforgiveable, we must look beyond the pain and remember: we had the best.
our memories, our love and our laughter were what brought us together in the beginning. it sparked friendships, and created bonds which are irreplacable. i'd like to bring the love and laughter back...one step at a time. we can pull through this...i have all my faith in us all. -less than three-
about this chapter: glad you stuck by for the rocky ride! hope that the ending didn't, ya know, make you puke in your soup or something. :O uhm. that would be pretty darn creepy there, ey?
in other news: RE:COM IS BEING RELEASED ON THE SECOND OF DECEMBERRRRR. WANT WANT WANT! XD
internet hugs would be manificent...
kokoro77