Ugh! The heat where I live is UNBEARABLE right now! Wonderful news, my readers: I FINALLY GOT A REAL JOB! It's in the Medical field! I'm going to be a transcriptionist, which means I'll be typing up all those confusing doctor words that nobody understands! What fun that will be! mew

okay, this chapter starts out in Axel's perspective; as you'll remember from the last chapter, he is showing Ame his memories of what happened after Talni left the dark realm with Granda. I hope you like this!

"When I look at you, I see everything we could be."—Phil Collins, Touch My Heart (I thought this song fit the almost father-son relationship between Axel and Roxas)

Chapter 20: Memory Lane 2.0
I thought seeing Sora…and Roxas inside him…would be the last thing I ever saw. I thought once the darkness enveloped me and I dissolved into nothing, that was it.(which is super-comfy, btw).

But I didn't.

Instead, I slowly creep back to consciousness; my mind (if I have one) is blank, a clean slate, but in the back is the color blue…the color of his eyes. Those laughing eyes that I left behind with Sora.

My next awareness is a feeling of floating; it's a wonder and a miracle I can feel anything at all. My body's floating like I'm underwater or something; my head is bowed and my eyes are closed. I feel warm and drowsy, like someone who takes a nap under a fleece blanket with a full stomach

Then my body shifts and I'm lying on something soft but firm; gravity catches up with my weight and all my limbs lie still; I can't tell if I'm clothed or not. It doesn't enter my mind to worry.

Then I feel a spark in the middle of my chest; it grows and expands with each pump it gives. My mind reels with disbelief; I think to myself, 'It couldn't be.'

But it could.

And it is.

My first breath of life is sweet and long, and I make it last as long as I can; after that, things around me become clearer by the minute.

I slowly open my eyes, feeling that they look blank and lifeless. With considerable effort, I turn my head to the left.

Then I see her.

She's standing over me in a bright light with a gentle smile and a sparkle in those immortal, beautiful eyes. A thrill of hope passes through my new heart as I recognize her and I feel a sting in my eyes as tears form for the very first time.

I press my hand against the thick curved glass as I smile up at the woman who became my savior. The Memory Pod opens around me and I lower my hand; the soft air is comfortably warm on my skin. It also makes me realize I'm naked, but the bottom half of the pod covers me.

"Gran," my voice croaks my first word as I reach for her. She smiles gently and takes my hand.

"Good morning, Axel," she says, "Welcome to the real world."

"It's good to see you, Gran," I smile brightly, my voice getting clearer as the reality of my existence settles. All of a sudden, my voice fails me and I'm crying and holding her hand to my face, overwhelmed with gratitude. All the while, the old lady's standing by my side, smiling and softly stroking my head like she's my mother.

That's almost what she is to me—a mother. This woman gave me life; how could I possibly thank her?

Now I'm sitting up with the skirt of her yellow kimono in my hands and on my face; I never cried in the realm of darkness, not since Talni left. Even then, it wasn't as intense as this.

"Thank you," I manage to croak through the tears, "Thank you…"

The full silvery moon shown down through the pine trees and illuminated the mountain road, turning it blue as the black car slipped through the soft color under a velvety dark sky of purple and black, dusted over with glittering stars.

Axel was in a black muscle shirt with the Nobody emblem on a silver chain around his neck and black baggy pants; he sat in the back seat with Granda Megami, who now wore a soft-blue kimono with dark green embroidery.

It had been six weeks since Axel's awakening; Granda had kept him at the main house to monitor his body and things like that, and he'd already made a reputation for himself, mostly with the kitchen staff. He was like Granda's secret child, especially since he'd been kept secret from Ame until the time was right. He'd been coated with special magic that made him invisible to her and her powers. She went blissfully unaware of any secret guests in the Megami mansion.

Roxas was a little tougher, though; if Axel was away from the mansion, he had to be careful not to let Roxas see or sense him. His body was too delicate to reunite with real life yet, and he needed to be completely recovered in order to deal with people, especially Roxas and Talni, the ones he cared for most.

It was quiet in the back seat except for the soft piano music on the radio; Granda was gathering the necessary words in her mind to prepare Axel for tonight's reunion. Now that he was completely whole, he was ready to live, starting with the one who consumed his soul in dreams.

"There's something you should know about Talni," Granda finally spoke. Axel turned to listen to her. When she looked at him, her eyes shimmered a sea green color as if her eyes were the sea itself, an eternity of wisdom swimming in their depths.

"She has suffered without you," she said sadly. Axel looked shocked at her.

"Don't worry, she's not hurt," she smiled kindly, "No…I suppose what I mean to say is that she has missed you terribly.

"Every night she stands in the ocean under the moon, as if awaiting your return. Every night she returns to her home alone and cries herself to sleep. But by day she is cheerful, happy, and selfless. She works as an equestrian instructor at one of my stables and lives in a beach house on the South Shore."

"Has she made any friends?" he asked with concern.

"A few," she answered as she smoothed down her skirt, "She likes to visit a karaoke bar on the south side of town. She doesn't drink, but everyone there seems to like her very much. You'll have to see for yourself.

"But even that isn't enough without you by her side, Axel. She misses you desperately and intensely. I've watched her from far away; she is anxious for your return. But I need to know something, Axel."

She looked seriously into his eyes and spoke with the authority of a grandmother.

"Will you love Talni for all she is and with all you are?"

Axel knew the answer to that question already; he'd known it since the day he met her, and had time to think about it at Granda's house.

"Yes," he said finally, "My heart was hers when I didn't have one; it's still hers now."

Granda searched his eyes for a moment; then she smiled, satisfied with his answer as the car stopped.

"Axel," she declared, "your journey through the darkness is over. It is time to live in the light."

She stood in the same place she always did: knee-deep in the shallows of the ocean with the wind catching her short pleated skirt as if teasing the water and playing with her loose hair and the tie on her white shirt (for some reason, she's wearing a high school uniform) while the moonlight filled her eyes until you couldn't tell their color anymore.

She stood that way, her arms limp by her sides, staring up at the moon with such longing, as if willing Yue to drop her beloved in the ocean and let him swim to her. Watching and waiting like this was the only thing that kept her from going insane at night.

She didn't hear the car pull up and stop on the road in the distance behind her. She didn't hear the doors close as two people got out. She didn't sense either presence like she normally would have, especially the one that called her name from the road.

"TALNI!"

The sound of his voice broke her trance and she gasped and spun around with wide eyes.

There he was, his long, red spiky hair drifting stiffly on the salt breeze, his eyes illuminated in the moonlight, perfect in his creation.

Her eyes stung for a minute with near-tears and her voice choked for a second, but she coughed to clear it.

"AXEL!"

He started to run to her, sliding down a dune while she ran/trudged through the water (it didn't occur to her to bend it out of the way) back to the shore; she tripped for a minute but quickly recovered and soon heard the piff-piff of her feet in the sand. She let her tears fly behind her; he was back, and nothing else mattered right now.

"Axel!" she cried as she jumped into his arms at last; Axel held her lovingly and intensely, neither able to believe the other was real.

"Are you really here?" she asked, pulling back breathlessly to touch his face, "I'm not dreaming?" He smiled and touched her head on the side.

"Not anymore, sweetheart," he said as he took her in with his eyes, "The dream's over; I'm not going anywhere." He slipped his hand into her hair and brought her into the first kiss they'd shared in months. After that, Axel pressed his lips to her forehead while she closed her eyes to let his presence soak back into her soul. She felt him smile.

"Gran lied to me," he breathed.

"What?" she said, pulling back, "What do you mean lied?" Axel kept his amused smile.

"She didn't tell me I'd be returning to a hot high school girl," he answered, referring to her high school outfit.

"Oh," she blushed, "that. You like it?" The way he looked at her suggested the affirmative, and then some. He scooped her up and kissed her passionately while she buried her hands in his hair.

"Well," Granda spoke behind Axel, "You two appear to have much to discuss!"

Axel turned around with Talni in his arms and holding onto his neck, both with smiles big and bright enough to signal a Spanish Armada.

"Obaasan!" Talni lit up, "Axel, put me down for a second!" She scrambled down and hugged Granda fervently.

"Domo arigato, megami wo mizu," she murmured, "Domo, domo arigato." Granda's eyes wavered happily and she smiled gently with pale pink cheeks as she embraced Talni lovingly. She glanced at Axel, who took one of her hands and knelt to her; she stroked his hair again while Talni cried on her shoulder.

"Precious spirits," she said softly, "I have granted you the gift of life, however mortal it may be. Make your lives mean something; find something or someone to live for, and live each day, each moment, as if it were your last."

"Yes, Granda," Talni wept happily.

"Is this the part where we say 'I Do?'" Axel joked.

"No," Granda chuckled, "That must be between you two. You are both members of the House of Megami, but I did not give you life intending to boss you around. It is your choice how you live."

As the three of them chattered on, Ame watched from further down the beach; her hair fluttered in the wind as she witnessed the memories of the tall redheaded man beside her. Her eyes were full of wonder and thought as she pondered on what Granda had said about living. It opened a new door of understanding for her.

Axel, however, didn't catch on.

"That's the end of it," he said cheerfully, after clearing his throat like he was trying to regain his composure, "Everybody hold hands!"

Before she could speak, his hand slipped across her forehead from behind and he grabbed one of her hands when they flew up in surprise. Another round of white light brought them back to the heart of the rose garden.

Axel then let go of Ame and turned to look at the fountain.

"There's not much after that," he said, "We walked home together, to her house, and Gran came back up here. Talni's been letting me live with her…"

But Ame wasn't listening to his reminiscent rambling; she was tormenting herself inside.

'After everything she's gone through,' she thought, 'All that time that she waited…trying to be strong and build herself as a person…and then finally be reunited with her true love…you berate her for that?'

"…and while I understand the level of our relationship goes against what you've been taught," he continued, "Talni's her own girl, and I won't apologize for loving her. We chose that path on our own, Miss Blue. It's up to us, and no one else, to choose how we live. That's what Gran told us. Got it memorized?"

Ame spun around and threw her arms around his torso with her face on his chest; she was blushing profusely and crying.

"I'm the one who should apologize, Axel!" she shouted emotionally, "It's none of my business if you live with her or not! I know she's her own person and can make her own decisions! I know how much she loves you! It's just such a shock to me that she's so much older and so different than me!"

Axel gently laid a hand on her head.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he smiled, "I'm positive she knows how you feel."

"I have to go apologize to her," she said, pushing herself away as she wiped her eyes, "I said some horrible things to her and I need to tell her I'm sorry." She bowed to him.

"Thank you for showing me your memories," she said, "I think I understand her a little better now. I have a feeling I'll see you later."

"I have a feeling you're right," Axel nodded, "Good luck with Talni."

"Same to you," she responded, "with Roxas…whenever you choose to see him." She turned on her heel and ran back down the Red Tunnel, reaching out with her mind to locate her Nobody.

Author's Review:
Oh, the drama and love and…stuff!

Movie reference: Granda's greeting of "welcome to the real world" is from The Matrix.

A little note here: I do not condone civil unions like Axel and Talni are doing, but I was also taught not to look down on or berate people who are in relationships like that. This chapter was a little piece of my soul there, a bit of my lifelong teaching.

Hope you liked the chapter! Please review!!