Axel woke up hurting. He attempted to sit up, but his head felt unbearably heavy, and it was impossible to lift more than an inch off his pillow without feeling a stab of pain that radiated from his brain to his entire body.

"Ah, you're awake." The voice was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it, and the light in the room, though dim, made it too uncomfortable to open his eyes.

"Who is it?" he mumbled.

"You don't remember me? It's Riku."

"Oh fuck."

Riku chuckled, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's never good news when I see you." Although it was true, he couldn't stop the slight grin that appeared on his face. He was well acquainted with Riku as a result of them both running in villainous circles. Despite this, their motives had often been at odds, and they'd ended up physically fighting on more than one occasion. Still, the truth was that Axel couldn't say he disliked Riku. In fact, he reminded Axel of a younger version of himself (of Lea, technically, but who was keeping track?).

Riku's tone was amused. "Well, if it helps, I'm not going to fight you today. Actually, I saved you. DiZ wanted to destroy you, but I thought you might be useful to our cause."

"And what's that?" Axel asked, trying to open his eyes again and wincing in pain.

"First off, we want to reunite Roxas and Sora so they can both be whole again. I know you don't care for Sora, but wouldn't you like to see Roxas escape the purgatory that is being a Nobody?"

"Well when you put it that way...no," Axel seethed, his strength returning along with his anger. Why on earth would he want Roxas to be merged with Sora?

"Imagine you had a heart, just for a moment," Riku suggested. "Try to imagine loving someone so much you would sacrifice your happiness for theirs.

"Condemning Roxas to be stuck in the body of that tiny, cocky, annoying, know-it-all? No. Fucking. Way. Riku."

Riku burst out laughing, but Axel was not amused. "Yes, Axel, Sora is a cocky, annoying, know-it-all. I couldn't have said it better myself...but he's also my best friend, and he hasn't been the same since Roxas was created."

"Don't care." Axel was feeling his headache return with renewed force, and he didn't know if he could continue the conversation much longer.

"I'll be honest with you, Axel. Although that's not what I wanted to hear, the process is 99% complete. They will be merged soon, and then we'll have work to do to make sure Sora, and Roxas, stay safe. Truth be told, that's the real reason I saved you."

"But you've just told me that there won't be a Roxas anymore, so what's the fucking point?" Even though Riku's words worried him, he was determined not to panic yet. You'll fix it, he assured himself. You always do.

"You know how this works, Axel. Please stop pouting and help me. Roxas will still be part of Sora, whether you see it or not. By protecting him, you're protecting Roxas."

"I hate you."

"Because you know I'm right."

"Because you're taking Roxas away from me, and he's the only person I care about."

"I saw what happened back there. He had the choice to go with you, and he said no."

"I don't remember that."

"Oh right. The hit to the head. Sorry about that. It was DiZ, not me, but trust me, it's not what I wanted." His apology took Axel by surprise, but not nearly as much as what he said next. "You might not believe me, but I'm about to tell you something I'll never repeat again. Even though we've been on different sides of the war, I've always liked you, and I think we could make a good partnership."

Axel wasn't sure how to take this news. He couldn't remember if he'd ever been complimented by someone other than Roxas. Even Demyx, his only other friend, was constantly reminding Axel of his faults. Roxas had been the first one to see the good in him, and it had changed his entire life. Though he wanted to be upset with Riku, he couldn't stop himself from feeling a flicker of happiness, so rare a feeling for a Nobody, and one he hadn't felt since Roxas left.

"Why so quiet, Axel?"

"Just thinking… Is Namine around?" That was it. She was the answer to his problem. She was creating this mess, and she could undo it.

"Why?"

"Just curious."

"Maybe we can arrange a meeting once her work with Sora is complete. Until then, you should rest. There are big plans afoot."

"Wait, wait. How do you know Xemnas isn't about to barge in here and kill us all?"

"We've fixed the, er, issues that caused you to be able to enter Roxas's alternate reality. We're unreachable."

"I hope that's true, because Xemnas is probably fantasizing about creative ways to murder me right now."

"Not on our watch, Axel. Rest up."

"I'm still not happy."

"That's perfectly fine, Axel as long as you agree to help Sora." He heard the sound of a lamp clicking off and a door closing.

The darkness was an instant relief. Axel resisted rest, reminding himself he should go find Namine immediately, but his exhausted brain got the better of him, and he fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, he was pleased to find he could open his eyes wide enough to examine the plain, windowless room surrounding him. A bedside table and lamp were the only furnishings. It was still mostly dark except for a line of white light that escaped under the door.

He laid his head back down, relieved to discover he was alone. He tried to think back through all the events that had led up to this point. He couldn't help but ruminate on what Riku had told him about Roxas not wanting to return with him. He could remember, vaguely, summoning a fire to avoid Xemnas's surveillance, but that was his last complete memory. Would Riku have made that up just to convince Axel to go along with his horrible plan?

There was also the matter of what he should do next. He was relatively safe here, much safer than he would be anywhere else, especially now that he was on the lam from the Organization. If he wanted to leave, he'd need time to discover new portals that he could use to get around. Every portal he'd learned to summon as part of the Organization would be monitored closely, so leaving on his own would be risky.

Plus, this was where Roxas was, so this was where he needed to stay. He was furious thinking about his current predicament. Roxas was probably already merged with Sora, and even if he wasn't yet, Axel was powerless to stop it. His favorite person in the world stuffed into the body and mind of that overly-confident, self-righteous prick. Roxas was the opposite of that, so humble and innocent. He was so afraid of confrontation, he had barely defended himself against Axel's mistreatment until the very end of their relationship. If he'd treated Roxas the way he deserved, he would've never left, and none of this would be happening.

In the beginning, Axel had been incredibly attentive. The short time they'd been romantically involved (following a long friendship) had been the happiest weeks of his life. However, eventually fears started to nag at him, and he'd purposely withdrawn himself from Roxas's life without explanation. The truth was, he was ashamed of the secrets he was keeping from Roxas about his work at Castle Oblivion, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Axel had done so many things he wasn't proud of in the course of his existence, and he never wanted Roxas to find out about them. The problem was that Roxas always seemed to sense when he was hiding something, and Axel was sick of lying to him whenever he asked.

Everything had caught up to him the day Roxas had passed out during his first visit to Castle Oblivion. Axel had personally carried him back to his room and watched him sleep, holding his hand, waiting for any sign of consciousness. He'd promised himself that he would only stay until Roxas woke up, just to make sure he was okay, and then he'd honor his personal promise of leaving him alone. Yet when he finally did wake up, looking so confused and weak, Axel was compelled to stay.

Roxas didn't even confront Axel about his long and unexplained absence. He calmly asked how he'd ended up in Axel's room, and then requested to take a shower. Axel sat on his bed, waiting for his return, trying to decide if he should maintain his resolution to stay away.

He saw the bathroom door open, and Roxas approached him with purpose. Without saying a word, he closed the distance between them until he was standing no more than a foot away. Axel battled with himself, deciding whether or not to give into temptation. He put his hands on Roxas's waist as if to stop him, but unconsciously pulled him a couple inches closer. It was so unlike Roxas to make the first move, and he couldn't deny the effect it was having on him. The height of the bed adjusted for their height difference so they were precisely face to face.

Roxas put one hand behind Axel's neck and pulled his face closer, but instead of kissing his lips, he'd gently planted a kiss on Axel's neck. He moved to Axel's earlobe, biting it lightly, teasing him, and Axel couldn't stop the soft moan that escaped him as his fingers dug into his lover's waist.

Roxas kissed his cheek and his forehead and smoothed back his hair. He looked into Axel's eyes before whispering in his ear, "I've missed you." He traced a finger down Axel's jaw and stared into his eyes. He knew what Roxas wanted, and he wanted it too, more than anything, but the truth was, he didn't deserve it.

He released his grip, and Roxas got the message. The disappointed look in his eyes as he fought back tears still haunted Axel. After that night, Roxas had started having visions of Sora and went totally rogue. Axel should've been there for him, but the worse Roxas's mental state became, the more ashamed Axel felt for leaving him, and it kept him away despite his better judgment. They'd never kissed or even touched since that night. What he wouldn't give to be back in that moment to return Roxas's kiss and whisk him away.

"No one would miss me." Roxas's parting words. Did he really believe that? Axel should have ran after him right then, begging for forgiveness. At the time, he had reasoned that by letting him go, Roxas might have a chance at a better, happier life without him. Time had passed and now he knew that he couldn't let go of Roxas, no matter how hard he tried. He had to believe that Roxas felt the same in spite of everything. He'd rather be turned into a dusk than know that he and Roxas would never have their happy ending.

But now was not the time to dwell on the past. If he wanted to save Roxas, he needed Namine, and there was no time to waste.