This chapter was soooo hard to write for some reason, just could not get into the groove like I usually can.
Thanks for the reviews I got, it really helps me feel motivated to write when I get some.
Also by the way, I put up some new pictures of what I feel Roxas looks like on my deviantart so if you want to see them, go to my profile page and look it up.
I own my underwear and nothing more.
Axel locked the safe house behind him and headed down the road keeping an eye out for marauding gangs that by some slim chance encountered him. He was close to the spot where Rikku had last sensed Roxas. It was at the once busy intersection and he knew it was only a matter of minutes until he arrived there.
His trek across the city had already brought him to the spot where Roxas had apparently crashed landed and now he was supposedly walking down the same street he had walked only days ago. Finding a clue to Roxas' whereabouts was all banking on something being there at the spot where Rikku's trail went cold.
So far he hadn't run into any trouble but that could change in a heartbeat if the right circumstances went wrong. He was approaching the spot now and Axel was feeling anxious, not being able to help himself he took off into a run and sprinted down the sidewalk. Feeling energized by the sunlight he ran on without a stutter in his step until he reached the location that Rikku had described and pointed out on a map to him before wishing him good luck on finding the short bird kid.
It was an intersection where there was a four way stop that had once been one of the busier spots in the city, and a place renowned for being horrible during rush hour. He slowed down to a walk as he entered the middle of it to try and find clues to where his friend may be. It looked normal but he saw a few blood trails that died off at random locations. Axel frowned as he walked around and saw no defining clues to where Roxas could have gone and with that he rubbed his head and closed his eyes in frustration.
He had been so sure he would find something; anything would have done if it would have given him some kind of idea. The thought of calling Rikku up and asking her to search for Roxas again crossed his mind but he knew it would be useless. She had gone as far as she could last time and this was as good as it was going to get, he would have to figure something out by himself. Looking up to the sky he felt hopelessness start to creep up on him but he held it back. Roxas was in trouble, he knew it and giving up wasn't going to get either of them anywhere.
Letting his hand fall to his side, he tried once more to find anything that would point him in a direction that might lead him to his friend. Looking to the sides he saw the small smudges of blood on the tar, he briefly wondered if it was Roxas' or someone else's but the thought was interrupted by the sound of a rock skidding across the ground. Whirling around he saw a person who looked to be around seventeenish walking down the sidewalk oblivious to Axel for he was looking at something intently in his hand.
Apprehensive, Axel summoned his wheels of fire and readied them to show the stranger he was not to be messed with. He noticed the new arrival had a bandana on with the Blue Moons symbol on it, and was dressed in an excessive amount of camouflage. He felt his heart slow a bit when he realized the kid didn't look like too much of a threat but he still kept his hands gripped tightly around his weapons.
To get the Blue Moons attention Axel yelled out, "Get away from here kid, I am not in the mood to deal with you today." To emphasize his point he lit his chakrams on fire and tossed them lightly about on his fingers. The camouflage wearer seemed to take his threat seriously for he took a step back and fear crossed his face. Axel felt his heart sink a bit when he got a glimpse of what was in the stranger's hand.
"What's that in your hand?" Axel took a step forward trying to get a better look at the object in the kid's hand. The Blue Moons member looked up angrily at him and put the hand behind his back looking like he was about to bolt. Axel was pissed and was sick of going through the formalities. Without pausing he rushed forward effectively slamming the kid down before he had time to react to what was happening. Standing over the kid, he held a Chakram forward as a looming threat if he didn't do what he wanted.
Despite the metal that was frighteningly close to his skin, the kid glowered up at Axel as he thrust his hand out and opened it to reveal a single ebony feather in the palm of his hand. Axel felt his heart skip a beat at seeing the familiar looking feather that was sitting so innocently in the youth's hand.
"Where did you get that?" Axel growled as he moved his weapon closer to the exposed throat before him. The kid pulled the feather towards his heart and looked away from Axels glare before looking back at him with a searching gaze that had confusion mixed with excitement in it.
"You're that guy from the video! You were with him!" The member of the Blue Moons pushed his elbows up on the ground and leaned forward not caring about the weapon that could kill him in a instant. "You know him don't you? That's why you care about the feather!" Axel was taken aback by what the kid under him was saying. Curiosity winning over his trepidation, he stepped aside and lowered his Chakrams but kept them at hand in case this boy did anything he would rash.
Shifting himself away from Axel slowly, the kid said "Does the name Roxas mean anything to you?" The kid looked desperate as he tried to read Axels' face on whether or not that name meant anything to him. Axel wanted it that way, if he appeared too eager than the Blue Moons member would have the control in this conversation. He didn't want that, he liked how the power dynamics were right now.
The kid, upon seeing no shift in Axels' expression, looked downcast once more and brought the feather up to look at it, it was a bit crushed from how he had held is so hard but it still looked strong as it glinted in the sunlight that rebounded off of it. His gaze returned back to Axel and he said. "Look, I shouldn't be telling you this but if Roxas trusted you than I think I should to. I owe Roxas that much after letting him go on that mission with those Bastards." The feather was once more cut off from view as the kid put his hand back down and stuffed the feather into his back pocket.
"Where is Roxas?" Axel asked simply, he was done playing games. If it came down to it he would not be above beating this guy up for the information he needed. The Blue Moons Member had sealed his fate the moment he asked if he knew that name. He was lucky though, for the member seemed to be a roll and continued on his rant.
"He left last night with a group of Blue Moons to a Military building somewhere in the city to break out some of our people that were being held there." The kid then looked angry as he continued. "Only this morning when the group…well what was left of them, came back he wasn't with them and when I asked about him they ignored me."
Axels' mind was whirring with activity. Why would Roxas be helping the Blue Moons, it couldn't be because of this guy. Then it hit him, it was Sora. Roxas had used the Blue Moons to help him get to Sora but there were still questions.
Looking up he stared into the kids darkened brown eyes and asked "Tell me everything that happened."
The kid looked forlorn as he contemplated what he should do but then his eyes turned up in a defiant matter that said screw the rules, I just don't care anymore. "If you want to help Roxas then I'll tell you on the way." The kid started to walk away and Axel reluctantly followed.
"Now this is what I have heard, I wasn't there that night. Apparently Roxas stumbled into our territory and we took him in instead of killing him outright because of the video we had obtained from the security of the grocery store…"
Axel listened intently as they walked forward and interrupted the kid in his story, "What's your name?"
"It's Hayner." Hayner said as he met Axels green eyes with his own brown. And then with a nod from Axel he continued with his tale. "Roxas worked things out with our leader so he was placed in the squad that was going to rescue our people, I still don't know how he did that. As they were leaving, for the mission, that's when I saw him. I hadn't known he was there until that moment and by then it was too late..."
Xemnas' hand gripped the part of Roxas' wings where they met into his shoulders and was leading him through generic hallway after generic hallway. Keeping his eyes open, Roxas looked for landmarks so he could match where he was at with the schematics in his head but so far hadn't had any luck. With another tug, Xemnas led him into a room that looked like a carbon copy of the hallway that Sora and the others had been kept in but this one wasn't beaten up. Opening a door, Xemnas shoved Roxas in the one closest to them.
Without giving him any further explanation, Xemnas shut the door and clicked the lock closed. Roxas pushed forward on his elbows to lean off the ground to watch the elusive man leave. He looked around the room and saw it was as sparsely decorated as Sora's was with just a bed and nothing more. Frustration was starting to boil over as Roxas rubbed a hand though his hair as a catharsis.
Roxas brought his legs inward towards his stomach and wrapped his arms around his legs. Blowing out a wad of air, he rested his head on his knees and let himself feel helpless and pathetic for once. Alone with his thoughts he felt his mind wander as he tried to work out what everything had meant and to catch up with the whirlwind of events that had occurred to him in such a short amount of time. Holding himself tighter he thought back on to what Vexen had said.
"That should put you back on schedule and reduce the headaches you must have gone through as well as the black discharge."
He knew what he meant by schedule the instant he had heard it a thousand times when he had been at the institute. But what puzzled him was why they still cared about getting him into the Nobody special Ops, it just didn't make sense. There was no way they would go through so much trouble just for that fact so what did they want with him. Another thought that was bothering him what the heck was in that shot. The black liquid looked really familiar but the memory he wanted to compare it to eluded his grasp.
What had they done to him at the institute? At the time he was there he was past caring for all he was focused on was how the hell he would out of there. He let out a groan as the answers to these questions went unanswered in this dank situation. And that Black discharge that had come from his head, what the hell was that about? He put a hand back on the spot that it had come from only to feel nothing. No bump, no abrasion, no cut, no anything of the sort that would give him any clues.
His eyes caught sight of the black band that was now around his ankle. It was less bulky than the tracker he had worn at the institute but it was also tighter and didn't hang as loosely. It had no outside interface except for the dull green light that was lit up on the side. With it shut like as it was, the clasp where the two ends met was barely visible and not enough space was present for him to try and stick a foreign object in it to try and pry it open.
Roxas held a hand out and tried to bring his keyblade forth but only some dull sparks erupted from hand and nothing more. He then tried to bring light forth but all he got was the feeling he was going to throw up. Burying his head back into his knees he wondered briefly if Sora and Riku were ok. Thinking back on that he wondered on how Riku had managed to summon that portal without one of the devices. He toyed with the idea that he had had one but Roxas just didn't see it but or perhaps that was just Riku's power.
Getting frustrated he stood up abruptly and paced the room before extending his wings out to the largest degree the room allowed and stretching them. He moved his left wing gingerly and was glad that it had healed but was surprised at how fast it had occurred. Roxas only wished that he was in an open place so he could try and fly again. That brief moment he had flown, though it had happened when he had been fighting for his life, had been breathtaking. Closing his eyes, he could still feel the stars shining down on him along with the moon as if he had been the main performer and they had been his audience.
Roxas halted in his pacing and looked out the giant panel of glass that adorned the same wall as the door to his cell. He walked up to it as he folded his wings back in before looking out of it with searching eyes. Roxas could have sworn he saw someone in the room across from his but now he couldn't be sure. Cocking his head to the left he thought he saw it again, a brief flash of white that moved briefly before disappearing. Roxas leaned back on his heels in puzzlement at this curiosity but eventually walked away from the glass and sat down on his lonely cot in the corner.
Feeling defeated, he closed his eyes tightly and balled his hands into fists. "No, this isn't going to happen again. I AM going to get out and I AM going to get back to Cloud, Sora, and Axel." Opening his eyes he thought of Axel. They had been through so much together in such a short amount of time yet the bond that Roxas felt with him was unlike anything he had experienced before. The time they had spent together had been the happiest time of Roxas life after so much crap had happened to him.
But this was different than mere friendship; though at this thought Roxas shook his head violently. No the only feelings he held for Axel were strictly platonic. And why the crap was he thinking about such things when he was being held against his will in the worst place he could be right now. A small part of him raised its voice and said something along the lines that these thoughts were the only thing keeping him sane but he dismissed them and laid back on the bed with his feet still touching the ground and his wings splayed out so they fell over the edges.
He searched the room for hidden cameras as one thing kept repeating itself in his head. Clutching at his head Roxas got up from the bed and went about trying to find weaknesses in the room and then looking out the glass to try and find key points in the hallway. He already had the whole building mapped out in his head but some of the little details as where the cameras were and other part pertaining to other parts of the building were starting to become a little blurring.
Seeing nothing of value, his attention was diverted back to the room adjacent to his as another flash of movement caught his interest. Raising an eyebrow, Roxas gave up on trying to see who it was and sat against the wall. His went to work on how he was going to get out of here; he had done it before he could do it again.
Roxas was so engrossed in thought he failed to see a man in black walk up to the room he had previously tried to see into and led a small frail looking girl out of the room and down the hallway. He would have seen the tired worn look on her face as she trudged on but sadly Roxas did not notice for he had fallen asleep.
A rough hand grabbed him by the front of his mangled sweatshirt and started to drag him forward whether he was awake or not. Roxas grabbed at the hand and stumbled forward, trying to gain purchase on the ground as he was pulled onward out of the room he had been dumped in previously.
Roxas senses immediately went on to high alert as he was led down the hallway of rooms and out the double doors that were the exit to the hallway. His eyes took in everything around him in a heartbeat as he noticed this man was new to the people he had met recently. Blue hair flared out from his head and ran down past his shoulders and he was wearing a cloak like everyone else in this place seemed to wear, Roxas figured it was some sort of uniform.
With the man still dragging him by the front of his sweatshirt, they walked down the hallway towards who knows where. Did this man not know he had a giant cut down the back of his clothing? An idea came to him bit by bit as they walked, if he could slip out of his clothes and try to make a run for it he could maybe get outside and fly away. It was a crazy thought but when was he going to get this opportunity again? Plus he had the added bonus of having nothing to lose.
They went through another pair of double doors entering a hallway that Roxas remembered from when he and the Blue Moons broke in last night. He knew where they had entered and if he just backtracked perhaps he could get out barring the fact he got caught. He watched the blue haired man closely and watched for any sign that might give him the advantage but Roxas also knew that he had to do this fast before they exited the hallway he remembered and got lost in the maze that was this places flooring plan. Focusing his mind, Roxas pulled a Houdini and dragged his arms from the sweatshirt along with the t-shirt that had been trapped in the man's grasp as well.
Shirtless, Roxas took off running before the man knew what had happened. Sprinting down the hall he took sharp turn just as he heard a roar of anger behind him. Literally, a roar of anger. Roxas felt the hairs on the back of his neck stick up as he continued running as fast as he could away from that man. His feet thundered on the too clean linoleum and he dodged his first seen scientists as he went. Behind him he heard the man running after him and from the sounds of it he was running into the scientists instead of dodging them.
Another sharp turn almost made him wipe out but he kept his footing as he turned into another hallway that was luckily familiar to him. The man was not giving up chase and from the sound of his steps he was getting closer with each one. Roxas figured he only had a limited time before this man caught up with him which put an extra burst of speed in his run. He kept his head low to reduce wind drag and searched for the door that would lead him out of here. With a smile he saw the door he was looking for that would lead to the cement covered room and then to the outside world. Taking a quick look back he estimated he had two seconds to open the door and then to slam it shut. It would be a close one.
He began to work on the door before he came to a complete stop and had it opened it one second, it took another second to close. Luckily for him the cement part of the wall had remained in the ceiling which he promptly brought down with all his strength. He ran to the door that held the outside and burst out of it, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest in excitement. He dimly heard the cement wall being pulled up violently but he was passed caring, he had gotten out!
The sun had just began to rise on the horizon and filled his heart with hope as he ran on a full on sprint, as he whipped his wings out forcefully. He never had taken off from the ground and hoped this test run would be a successful one. He pushed off from the ground as hard as he could while at the same time pushing down with his wings as much as he could. Then he was flying, he had done it, he had gotten out.
"No you don't," a voice said slyly before Roxas slammed into what felt like a person's body that had appeared out of nowhere. Thinking back on it later, Roxas would swear the man had just popped out of the air to block his path.
Roxas then felt the queerest sensation before opening his eyes and seeing he was no longer in the air, heck he was no longer outside. He was in the hallway he had been in moments before with a hand on his shoulder holding him in place. Confused and a bit disoriented with what just had occurred he looked at the owner of the hand to see a man grinning at him from behind an eye patch and a jagged scar that ran down his jaw.
Roxas screwed his eyes up and felt his shoulders barely shake as the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness overtook him. He had been so close, the sky had been before him as he had flown but God decided to fuck with him one more time.
"I got him Saix; you need to be more careful with this valuable merchandise." The man spoke with a slight California accent and seemed to be taking this matter lightly from the way held himself. The grip on Roxas' shoulder told another story as the leather clad hand dug its fingers into his muscles and bones. Roxas looked away from the man's face to see a very angry man in front of him. The calm demeanor of this man was gone and in its place looked to be a snarling beast.
"Man, Sephiroth wasn't lying when he told us about you huh?" The man said with a chuckle as he shook Roxas gently.
"Give him to me Xigbar; I need to teach this mutt his lesson." Saix said baring his teeth. Roxas was uncomfortably reminded of a rabid dog when he looked at the seething man. He recoiled at what Saix would do to him for his attempted escape but stood defiantly, staring back unflinchingly, hiding the fear that he felt.
Xigbar shrugged and said "Ok but remember that we need to test his power sometime today." And with a grin he added, "And I hope you know what you're going to say when they find out what happened." With that Roxas was shoved forward away from Xigbar and towards Saix. Without waiting, Saix clamped his hand around the back of Roxas' neck and started to lead him away.
Goosebumps lined his barren back as he was forced forward. And like so many times before he repeated the tantrum of names to comfort himself, "Cloud, Sora, Axel…"
Cloud felt his eyes open wide and his muscles tense up as if preparing for some kind of onslaught but none came. Grimacing he leaned upward on his elbow as his other arm grabbed at his healing stomach while at the same time trying to remember what had happened after the heartless onslaught. The only thing that he could remember was bits and pieces and oranges for some reason.
Closing and opening his eyes he looked around to see from the light shining in, that it was early morning but what was more astounding was the fact that Sora was laying in a bed next to him.
Sora was asleep with a frown on his face and he was twitching every few seconds as if he was currently having a nightmare. Looking passed Sora, Cloud noticed Riku was also here but wasn't asleep and instead was gazing profoundly at the ceiling as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. He turned his head at a familiar touch and wasn't surprised to see it was Aerith leaning over him with her usual warm smile that made you feel as if you had just gotten home.
"I'm glad you're awake." She gently went about doing a routine check as she continued talking, "I've weaned you off the pain killers so you should be more coherent than before." He looked down at his bandaged up torso and winced as another shot of pain made its way to his brain.
"How bad was I?" He gingerly probed the bandaged area to try and gain some knowledge on his wound but Aerith would have none of that and brushed his hand away. He looked up and saw she was frowning after he had asked her his question. A cold lump formed in his stomach. "Aerith, how bad was I?" he asked with a bit more force.
"You almost died Cloud." A masculine voice said behind Aerith who flinched at hearing that. Cloud looked behind and saw Squall make his way around her to sit down a chair that was conveniently besides his bed. "You were defending a fallen comrade when a crowd of heartless' converged on you. You were bleeding out before we could get to you. It was all do to luck that you survived."
Squalls words rang in his ears as he tried to grasp the concept of the fact that he had almost died. Not wanting to think about it he turned back to Squall and asked, "When did Sora and Riku get back?" Squall glanced at Sora's sleeping form as if debating whether or not to say anything.
"Sora and Riku got back during the night. They're ok, just banged up a little bit." Cloud slumped down on the cot from relief. The past few days had been a worry fest at not knowing if his brother was ok or if the mission had gone wrong.
Then another thought crossed his mind that he wished to quall, "Squall, Roxas is ok to right?" The reaction he was hoping to get did not come forth and instead an awkward silence ensued. Both Aerith and Squall looked uncomfortable at the question but neither of them were the first to speak up on the subject.
"He's not here." Sora said plainly. "And it's all because of me."
Alrighty there it is. I hope you guys like it as much as I do. Sora's all emo aghghg. Oh well.
And once again, poor freaking Roxas, never can catch a break with me.
Fun fact: It the beginning, everyone had a physical feature such as ears or tails but got to complicated keeping track so omitted that in the end.
Anyways thats it, please review and I will tear a dictionary in half with awesomeness.