Part Seven

The journey to Radiant Garden was mostly silent as no one really had that much to say. Axel had distanced himself from everyone, not wanting to accidentally hurt anyone due to his outbursts. He wondered, if they had not found a way to fix this.. If it mattered if he had left; to go as far away from them as humanly possible.. Would it matter if he had left? He couldn't bare the fact that they could possibly die because of him.

His thoughts were broken as the Gummi Ship gave a sudden jolt as it touched down just outside the main gates of Radiant Garden. Wordlessly, Axel stood from his seat.

"Axel?"

The sudden voice from behind him made Axel flinch. He looked over his shoulder and noticed that Roxas was making his way over to him.

"I'm not safe to be around.." Axel stated, turning away.

Before he could take another step, Roxas had grabbed his shoulder, freezing him in place.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Roxas said, narrowing his eyes a bit. "We're all in this TOGETHER.. Or have you forgotten that?"

Axel was surprised by the sadness in Roxas's voice at the last question. Axel sighed as he turned to face him.

"Look, I understand that you guys wanna help me but.." Axel let out a breath. "After what I've done.. I don't see the reason you'd need me."

"Oh, don't give us that crap!"

The second voice cause Axel to turn and see Sora's had been the one who spoke.

"If you were a monster, you wouldn't have tried to keep yourself from attacking us!"

"Sora's RIGHT," Roxas agreed. "You wouldn't have locked yourself in that pod to make sure you wouldn't KILL me."

Axel stood where he was. He was completely speechless. Did they really want to help him that badly? Even when he had caused the bloodshed and death? How could they even consider him their friend after that?

"We're your friends," Sora said, as if reading Axel's thoughts. "We're in this together."

"Guys.."

Axel could feel a stinging in the corner of his eyes and blinked as he felt a tightness forming in his chest. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he felt the stinging sensation in his eyes growing stronger.

It was only when Roxas threw his arms around him that Axel felt the tears he had been holding back slowly cascade down his cheeks. Axel took a shaky breath as he pulled Roxas into a tight hug.

"I'm.. I'm sorry.." Axel choked out.

Roxas smiled as tears of his own slipped down his face.

"We're here for you, Axel.. Got it memorized?"

Axel couldn't help but let out an almost strangled chuckle.

"T-that's my line." he joked softly.

Roxas smiled and tightened his hug a bit. The moment was soon interrupted as Isa spoke up.

"We should hurry.. We don't have much time left."

Axel let out an annoyed growl at Isa's interruption. Thankfully, the sound was drown out by the sounds of the still running ship. However, Roxas could sense the change in Axel's demeanor and felt a chill go through him.

"A-Axel..?"

Axel turned to look at Roxas and allowed his dark expression soften, soon realizing his grip on Roxas had tightened exponentially and immediately released his grip on the blonde.

Roxas winced as he rubbed at the still sore injury on his left arm.

"R-Roxas, I'm sorry, I-"

"I-it's okay," Roxas assured. "It doesn't hurt t-that much."

The strain in Roxas's voice only made Axel's guilt grow stronger and he turned away.

"C'mon.. We should head out.."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The only sounds around them was the slight clacking of their footsteps as they made their way into the depths of the old Castle. As they moved farther into the castle, they could already sense something had changed. The air in the corridor was unusually cool and heavy the farther along they went. It was as though all life had been drained from the castle.

When they finally reached the lab, they were shocked at what they found. The group of friends looked around, watching their surroundings cautiously. It was as though years had passed within that one room. The once polished and smooth metallic walls were scuffed and worn. The floor even seemed more like rusted metal instead of chrome tile. Books, discarded scrolls, and crumpled-up notes had been scattered about the scuffed up floor., making it seem as though someone had ransacked the entire laboratory.

"Okay, split up," said Riku. "We should find what we need if we all look around."

Sora and the others nodded and soon began to search throughout the lab. The heaviness of the air was sent chills down their backs as they continued to searched the area. Slowly, Roxas made his way into an adjacent alcove not far from the main room. There, he found what seemed to be a desk; upon which, lay a book, stained dark brown, as if it had been rubbed in dirt. Roxas gazed at it, a bit perplexed.

Roxas hesitated before carefully opening it. He became rather confused as he found the words incomprehensible. As he stared at the words, he was unaware of a heaviness forming within him as if his thoughts began to grow clouded.

"Roxas?"

Roxas instantly snapped from his trance as he spun around.

"Is.. Everything okay, buddy?" asked Axel, a bit concerned.

"Uh.. Uh, yeah.." Roxas muttered softly. "I think I found something.."

"What did you find?" asked Isa.

Roxas turned around and took hold of the thickly bound book.

"There's no title but.."

Roxas trailed off as he showed him the book. Ienzo carefully took the book and opened it. Almost the instant he opened the book, the heaviness within the room began to grow stronger.

"Well, how nice of you all to drop by."

Everyone instantly spun around to find the blonde man standing within the doorway, grinning as his eyes gleamed a cold and unnatural gold.

Author's Note: I had been a bit busy and so it took a bit of time to write this part.. I will try to get more up soon..