A/N: The table turns as Axel asks for Luxord's help.

XXVIII. The Last Rays of Day

The air is charged. I can feel it. You go out on a big gamble at a time like this, and you're going to lose big. That said, it's betting against the worst odds that nets you the biggest win. I'm eager to see how this hand plays out.

That was what I wrote on my memo block after my second and last mission with Roxas. I regretted writing so little now, but now that he had left the Organisation, it made me realise something.

Everything had changed within the Organisation's walls. Saix spent more time with the Superior about what to do with Roxas, and Axel was often called in for a private chat. Xigbar, although not technically speaking the second in command, was naturally in the know of everything. Xaldin had progressively spent more and more time in Beast's Castle, to the point he was no longer interested in anything otherwise.

Which meant that only Demyx and I were out of the loop about what was going to happen regarding Roxas. It therefore came as a surprise when Axel wanted a private word with me.

I made him comfortable by inviting him to a tea house that was in Wonderland. Although perhaps tea house wasn't the right word – it was simply a large table outside a small-in-comparison cottage.

As I busied myself with the teapot, I encouraged Axel to start by giving him a pointed look.

"Saix wants me to eliminate Roxas."

I let my eyes shut as I repeated the words again in my head. I counted to three and opened them again. "Will you do it?"

Axel looked away hesitantly, resting an arm across the back of his chair. "I don't know. He's not who I knew him to be, but it makes it that much harder." He exhaled sharply. "I want things back the way they were."

A small laugh escaped from my throat. "Don't we all?" I agreed as I replaced the teapot onto the surface and pondered over the white or brown sugar cubes. Strictly speaking, white was for tea and brown was for coffee. Yet there was the mild thrill of bending the rules for personal gain. "You never realise how valuable something or someone is until it's too late. Is there a reason as to why the Superior doesn't want him to return to us?"

"That's…" Axel faltered, and I raised a hand in dismissal.

"Classified, correct?" It certainly was hard being at the bottom of the food chain – only the bare minimum of the information was offered, so it was best that I didn't push my luck.

The redhead nodded. "Yeah, something like that."

"Therefore, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about? I hardly find that it's something that you could converse with the others if you're consulting me." I snatched the bowl containing the white sugar and arched an eyebrow at Axel as I held it slightly higher.

"One please," he answered, once he had caught on what I was trying to suggest. "The reason why I wanted to talk to you is because you're the only one who could avoid…" He stopped abruptly as he saw me put one sugar cube in my tea, then another.

I smiled somewhat. "Do continue, I'm listening." I had a vague feeling that this conversation needed something sweet to cheer me up. There was something about Axel that told me that he hadn't been getting much sleep recently, and it was undeniable that what was to come was the result of his worrying.

"Well…" Axel rubbed at the back of his neck, struggling to pick up from where he left off. "I was wondering if it was possible for you to…alter the events to become something else."

When hearing outlandish remarks, I was taught to treat them with care and turn them in the palm of my hand. Manipulate it into a matter more favourable to me and return it without a scratch. From my understanding, Axel wanted to, in any way possible, revert time. A grand feat I couldn't possibly accomplish without stepping on Zexion's memory.

As part of the bargain, my part in making him age meant that my power was significantly reduced. It was a handicap I almost relished in, a chance to embrace my limited but harnessed power. As the boy lived his day-to-day life, I made the seconds on his internal body clock tick. By making controlled time surround him, others around him too remembered his physical development. And, when he died, my powers to this day still drained to his non-existent body to keep the very memory of him being Demyx's age going.

By helping Axel and rewriting time again, it meant breaking my promise with Zexion. It was a huge risk, one where the jackpot was almost unobtainable. It wasn't one I could take on board without considering the serious repercussions it could have on me.

"I can't do that," I said nonchalantly as I blew on the surface of the tea evenly.

"Why not?" Axel was tetchy now. Clearly, he had already decided I would help.

"Roxas' case is difficult." I chose my words carefully. Not to disagree with Axel's unreasonable request, but rather he was suggesting something that couldn't be done. "You may recall from the very start that Roxas was a clean slate. In a way, his fate was decided from that alone."

Axel's skinny eyebrows furrowed. I studied his darkened shadows, green eyes that lost their previous shine, the pursed lips of someone anticipating a long lecture. His long fingers had found their way to the tea cup, but he made no move to drink the beverage.

I maintained eye contact as I took the first daring sip of tea. Having two sugars really did take the flavour out. "Since his first day at the Organisation, he's been fed the belief that his efforts meant something. He would leave the castle, contribute a few hearts and follow a similar routine the next day. Somewhere along the lines, perhaps even he doesn't exactly know when, he began to truly think for himself. It's simply only now that the idea came into fruition."

The redhead blinked slowly. "So on Roxas' end…"

"It doesn't matter what I do," I completed with the smallest smile. Sympathetic, but not condescending. "It ultimately won't change the way Roxas is going to develop. If this is his answer to us, I haven't the power to alter that decision."

It was unfortunate, but I had anticipated this from the start. The others had shaped him to become this way, and it was only a matter of time before he realised that the rules were rigged. Although I wasn't entirely comfortable with him leaving, I was glad he reached the decision through his will and his alone. The Organisation suffered a significant blow, but I will stand by his decision nevertheless. That was what I had promised him, even though he himself wasn't aware of it.

"How about to something more recent," Axel tried next. "I think Roxas remembers me, even a little. Can't you make the Superior take a bit longer to reach his decision? Give me more time?"

I laughed heartily. I was the one taking the backseat, and now I was to deal cheap cards to the Superior? "Once again, the state of the mind is a matter more complicated than I have control over. I can't affect the flow of their mentality as the subject is the one in charge of their own affairs. The outcome is inevitable – he will want Roxas eliminated. To present day, we underdogs don't know half of what's on his mind. What's to say that the second Roxas returns to our folds and completes Kingdom Hearts, the Superior wouldn't want him killed then?"

Axel didn't reply, but I didn't need him to. That silence was all I needed to hear. "Of course, I don't know the exact nature of the order, so feel free to dismiss it." And, although I added the clause, I was fully aware Axel was no closer to brandishing it from his mind.

"So there's nothing you can do?"

I kept my gaze level. To look down at this point meant lack of self-confidence, anxiety and an easy target. In essence, to go against everything I had said up until now. To look up meant lack of compassion, an aspect that wasn't desired in this conversation. "Unfortunately no," I confirmed. "The mind works in mysterious ways. But if you want to change your current situation, you ought to sort it out in the present. Changing the past won't do anything whatsoever."

Axel got onto his feet, finally setting the cup on the saucer without drinking a sip in the end. "As you've just proved. Thanks for hearing me out," he added flatly.

His facial expression had turned from nervous to distant. He had placed all his faith with me, and that was exactly what he shouldn't have done. As he raised a hand to summon a portal, it was slight but I knew it was shaking. Like the dying embers of sunset, he lost the glow he normally flounced. He had lost the will to show off now no one was looking, lost the ferocity I still remember on our first mission together.

All in all, it was a sorry sight to see. A sun surviving on the last of its flames, struggling to look alive. Axel was already dead inside, but kept going to make it look like he wasn't. It was all in those eyes – the look of distance that set its sights somewhere beyond what they could see.

Even as Axel turned his back on me to depart, I didn't want him to leave like so.

"If Roxas really remembers you, as you say, perhaps you could buy yourself more time." I took a leisurely sip of tea, and the lack of footsteps was enough to suggest Axel was listening. "It means burning your bridges with Saix by disobeying a direct order, but…" Upon establishing eye contact, I gave a sly smirk. "I'm sure you have no problem with that."

Axel didn't move a muscle for a long while. Perhaps he was thinking of a good response, but he opted to let my suggestion linger as he went on his way without another word.

I finished off my tea and got onto my feet. It was ironic, really. In the same way I had demanded information from Axel, he too had required my input. I didn't know to what extent I had helped him, but a cheat could only cheat so much before it all came back to him.

I started to clear the table. Strictly speaking, the house didn't belong to anyone, but it still felt discourteous to use the tea service and not clear up afterwards.

The last rays of day no longer touched the Organisation. Roxas was to be eliminated, and the inevitable plunge of darkness would come before long. The future certainly was bleak.