"It's over." Roxas spoke calmly while looking down on Axel with contempt.
Axel snarled at him. "What makes you so sure!?"
"You're hardly in a position to talk Axel!" Roxas dug his weapons deeper into the man's neck almost choking him. "Give up!"
"Why do you pretend to care so damn much?" Axel snarled in response.
Roxas was slightly taken aback by this question. "What?"
"You pretend to care so much about these 'friends' of yours. You pretend that you're angry when we both know that can't be possible." Axel held his look of disgust as he stared up at Roxas. "What do you get out of all of this?
What do you hope to gain by pretending that you still have a heart? What is it that you think will happen by continuing this facade? The only way people like you or me can be complete again is through Kingdom Hearts! Don't you understand that?"
"You… I'm not…" Roxas was unable to come up with a response.
"You're a Nobody Roxas!" Axel yelled. "An incomplete being without a heart. Stop pretending you're actually a person and realize the only way that this little dream you've been living will actually come true is if you come back to the Organization."
"Shut up!" Roxas finally spat back. "I don't know if what I think I'm feeling is true. I can't tell you if I'm pretending, or if I'm behaving this way because that's how I feel! I can tell you this though. I know that I'm not trying to feel! I'm not trying to pretend anymore! I'm not trying to return to the Organization!"
Axel's expression was replaced with a blank stare. "So, that's how it has to be." Roxas hadn't seen it before, but the elder Nobody's palms had been quickly building with energy. "Goodbye, Roxas."
There was a deafening boom of two explosions which rocked the ground beneath Roxas' feet. The younger Nobody stumbled back from the shock waves and was engulfed in a massive cloud of dark black smoke. That made it nearly impossible to see his own hand let alone Axel.
Roxas turned his head left and right trying his best to get even a glimpse of his former friend with no success. The young Nobody suddenly grew very still trying his best not to make a sound. He concluded that if he couldn't see Axel, then Axel couldn't see him.
If that was the case, they would only be able to locate the other if one made a sound. Roxas scanned the darkness with sharp eyes before he heard something split the air to his left. The younger Nobody turned his head, and he could see Axel's chakram flying past him.
Roxas gave it a strange look since he couldn't understand what Axel had been aiming for. He then heard the noise again to his left. Turning his head, Roxas couldn't see the chakrams, but he could hear them piercing the smoke as they danced about the darkness.
Roxas couldn't understand what Axel was doing before he felt a sharp pain erupt in his back. He cried out in pain as the chakram dug into his lower spine. Moments later, he could hear a second chakram splitting the air as it moved like a bullet in his direction.
Unable to see the projectile, the younger Nobody feebly raised his keyblade hoping that he could get lucky and defend against a force he couldn't see. He had no such luck as the second Chakram struck him in the ribs and tore against his skin as it rapidly spun.
Again, Roxas involuntarily hollered out in pain from the attack before a bright ball of flame began its path towards the young Nobody. Able to see this attack, Roxas was able to move out of the way in time just as the two chakrams propelled away from him.
The younger Nobody was left a little winded but still standing. Roxas heard the familiar whizzing sound of a chakram as it struck the ground where he had been. It then ricocheted out and away from view. Roxas finally understood what Axel was doing as he saw this.
"He's just as blind as I am in this mess, but he's been taking random shots in the dark hoping to hit something." Roxas reasoned. "When he manages it, he keeps attacking that spot until I move. Fine, I'll just get rid… hold on, I can use this."
Axel stood on the border of the large smoke cloud where he listened keenly to the sounds within. This was a tactic he used when the target was being a little rowdy, and Roxas counted. If the younger Nobody took a step, he would hear it and punish the teen for doing so.
He had expected Roxas to cast some wind magic by now but decided to simply take the advantage while he still had it. Axel heard the familiar scrape of metal rubbing against stone and immediately threw his chakrams at the noise. They passed through the smoke with no resistance.
That made Axel frown before a second sound, not unlike the first, rang out on his right. Again, the Nobody threw is chakrams with the same result. A third noise came, yet Axel again hit nothing. That was a surprise since his arms were fast on the draw.
"Found you." Roxas declared.
Axel's eyes widened as he attempted to turn around only to receive a keyblade to the top of his head. Unable to see through the smoke, he was incapable of defending against the second swing which struck him in his ribs. Dazed and confused, Axel tried to leap away.
As his body left the ground, he felt a hand reach out and snatch his foot before he could get away. Axel was yanked back down to where Roxas was waiting with Oblivion in his other hand. The elder Nobody had been brought back to his feet making him stumble.
This was deliberate on Roxas' part as it allowed him to doll out the punishment with a crack to the side of the face sending Axel twirling in place. Two more consecutive strikes connected with his body before he felt both keyblades meet his midsection at the same time.
The force of the ending strikes sent him flying backwards and out of the cloud of smoke. Axel grunted as he struck the ground before slowly picking himself up. He saw Roxas stepping out of the cloud after him with a cold expression on his face.
"Pretty clever triangulating my position from my chakram throws." Axel stated. "That hit to the head really hammered that point home for me."
Roxas strolled on over to his former friend. "Give up."
Axel scowled. "What? You think I'm going to give up because you got a few good hits in? I'm not done yet kid!"
Sidon arrived with Link and a contingent of guards before flames erupted from the ground. They soon thickened to the point that Roxas could no longer see or hear the world outside. His entire view was consumed by flames and Axel.
"Just you and me Roxas!" Axel declared. "No more tricks or games!"
Roxas nodded. "Fine."
Roxas darted forward and swung Oblivion at Axel's chest only for the attack to be deflected by a chakram. Roxas stepped back as he narrowly avoided being struck by Axel's own wild swing before countering with a sweep towards Axel's legs.
Oathkeeper struck nothing as Axel leapt into the air and began building energy into each of his hands. Roxas retreated as he prepared himself for whatever was coming before noticing the intensity of Axel's gaze. He knew that this next attack was going to be massive.
Axel fired the orbs once they were the size of a small car. Roxas looked on in terror since he had never seen Axel launch an attack this powerful before. The younger Nobody firmed up his stance and put as much power into his swing as he could batting away the orbs.
The attacks passed through the wall of flame and resulted in an explosion that the younger Nobody knew he wouldn't have gotten back up from. Roxas looked back up at Axel who was still suspended in the air as two more orbs of equal size were hurled at him.
Restricted by the arena of flame, he had no choice but to meet these attacks head on once more. His tired arms did their best to force the twin attacks away from his body. His first strike was successful in again forcing the orb away and outside the flames.
As he pressed his second keyblade against the next orb, he felt his arm begin to buckle. Quickly reenforcing his Oathkeeper with Oblivion, he was forced to use both arms to push the attack up and over his head.
"RAAAAAH!" Roxas roared as his arms finally found the strength to force the massive ball of death up and away from him.
His arms felt like jelly and limply fell to his sides as he felt the explosion behind him rumble through the ground beneath his feet. Looking up, he could see Axel preparing yet another set of flames quickly building in his hands.
Roxas could see the strain in his face as Axel did this, but none the less the attacks were still building. This time, the younger Nobody knew he didn't possess the power to stop them. He was also still trapped by the raging inferno surrounding them.
Roxas found himself staring at Axel in glum defeat before he felt something else within him begin to release itself. Darkness and light spread out over the younger Nobody flooding him with more power than he's ever had before.
"IT'S OVER!" Axel called out.
He threw his final two orbs at the young man below. Roxas felt a new found resolve within as he saw the orbs approach. He couldn't just keep defending, he couldn't run, and he couldn't dance around what he knew he had to do. Instead of waiting for the attacks, he darted through the air.
Roxas raised Oathkeeper above his head before splitting the first Orb in two with a blinding strike. His light passed through the flames as if they weren't there. The two halves of the first orb harmlessly shot past Roxas.
The next orb met a similar fate as he divided it into four equal sized pieces with two consecutive slashes before continuing his momentum towards the stunned form of Axel. The four powerful pieces of flame struck the ground behind Roxas as he closed the distance between them.
Roxas cross slashed into Axel leaving behind an X in his chest that burned with darkness and light. The older elder Nobody was sent crashing into the ground. The flames around them quickly died down to faint embers as Axel lay still on the ground.
Roxas had landed and stared at his fallen friend with a sad expression. He didn't even notice Link, Sidon, and the Zora still standing there. Roxas felt the energy from before leaving his body and suddenly the weight of his keyblades grew too much for his exhausted arms to handle.
He let the weapons drop from each hand, and they quickly disappeared before he slowly walked over to Axel's limp form. Roxas knelt at the elder Nobody's side causing his former friend to slowly open his eyes. It seemed this simple action was a strain.
Axel chuckled. "Looks like you got me, buddy."
The chuckle slowly transformed into a raspy, violent cough that shook his entire body. After that, Axel's breath grew strained and painful with each intake. Roxas watched this in solemn silence. It wasn't until after Axel's breathing began to regulate once more that he spoke.
"It took everything I had to do it." Roxas admitted. "Even against Xigbar, I hadn't felt this strained."
"Yeah?" Axel responded in a coarse voice. "It better have. I won't accept if any other member takes you down, alright? That goes for Xemnas too. I should be the only one to even get close to taking you down. Got it memorized?"
Roxas nodded his head as he felt a warmth begin to slowly run down the side of his cheek "I got it."
Axel's eyes found Roxas's before widening at what he was seeing "Are you... are you really?"
Roxas stared at him in confusion even as he felt a familiar warmth begin to run down his other cheek as well "What is it?"
Axel released another, quiet chuckle. "You're crying Roxas… you're crying like a real person. Do you realize that?"
The younger Nobody brought a hand to his cheek and withdrew it with wet fingertips. "Is that what this is called? I remember doing this with Xion as well."
"That's crazy Roxas. I didn't think it was possible for a Nobody to cry. I mean… how can you fake that?" Axel gazed up. "I always knew you were special."
"I wish I didn't have to do this." Roxas stated with a quiet tone. "I wish you would have just given up."
"I couldn't give up Roxas." Axel stated faintly. "The Organization told me that I was to either bring you back… or end you. This was the way it had to be, but I'm glad it ended this way."
The two grew quiet as they listened to the flames around them slowly fade through the actions of the gathered Zora.
Axel was the first to speak and break this silence. "I wish I could see it… one last time. The sunset atop that clock tower…"
Roxas felt the need to sniff his nose as he used his sleeve to wipe away his tears. "There wasn't a day that I didn't wish we could all be back there. You, Xion, and me."
"That would have been nice." Axel smiled. "You know Roxas… it's funny. You act like you have a heart, yet you were always the one person who could make me feel like I had one too."
Roxas could see the pieces of blackness begin to lift from Axel's body. His form slowly began to dissipate as Nobodies do when they die.
"It looks like… I'm beginning to fade away… Roxas." Axel stated.
He stared at the darkness rising from his body. His speech was strained and difficult as the Nobody struggled through each word. Roxas reached out and clasped his friend's hand.
Roxas could barely contain his sorrow as tears continued to fall from his eyes. "You were never my enemy Axel."
Axel laughed at Roxas statement as the pieces of darkness rose faster and his form began to fade. "I already knew that… don't you remember? I said before… we're always friends dummy… think you finally... got it memorized?"
"I do." Roxas nodded as he choked back his tears. "I promise I'll remember from now on."
Axel closed his eyes for one, last time. "Good… That makes me… happy."
Roxas looks on in shock as two Keyblades suddenly appeared in his hands; however, they were not Oathkeeper and Oblivion. The first was simple in design much like the Kingdom Key. The handle was black while the blade was a spiraling white and black design.
The second's keychain, teeth, and blade resembled Axel's Eternal Flames Chakrams. The two chakrams that make up the Keyblade are joined by a metal numeral 8, and they also have eight total spikes.
"Bond of Flame and Keyblade of Heart." Roxas stated as their names came to his mind.
"How about that?" A smile formed along Axel's lips. "Now you got… something tangible… from me as well.
Keyblade of Heart radiated light and darkness which resonated around Axel's form; however, it didn't seem to do anything. The elder Nobody dissipated completely. Roxas cried. Not too far away, a still unconscious Demyx glowed the same way.
Later…
Link had escorted Roxas back to the inn and while he wanted to be there for his friend, Roxas asked to be left alone. Now with his eyes puffy and red, holding no focus, he had made his way out of the inn and back to the scene of his battle with Axel.
As he arrived, the events of the last hour replayed over and over in his head. The area had been devastated by the flames, and Roxas was just left with an unfamiliar numbing. It was as if he couldn't quite process the world around him.
Muzu approached Roxas along with two other, elder Zora, and they were all angered. It wasn't exactly to the same level as they were with Link, but it sure was close enough. Roxas stopped walking and waited for them to approach.
Sidon came in and put himself between the Zora and Roxas. "Take it easy Muzu."
"Prince Sidon, you heard what Link told us." Muzu pointed a spear at the Nobody. "That boy has a connection to the person that did this. What's worse is the fact that man was after the hero. Both invited more trouble to the Zora."
"I'm sorry…" Roxas began.
"You have nothing to apologize for Roxas." Sidon declared firmly. "Muzu, this boy doesn't deserve to be persecuted for the actions of his past. Take your men and leave."
Muzu growled before heeding his words and leaving with the other, elder Zora.
Sidon then turned, knelt, and put a hand on Roxas' shoulder. "Try not to take what they've said to heart. You defended Link and my home against someone who I can tell was a good friend of yours. That means…"
"Muzu is right!" Roxas' sudden outburst caused Sidon to recoil in shock.
"Roxas, it's not your fault." Sidon spoke with focus and compassion. "They are bad people, and you aren't responsible for their decisions."
"But I'm responsible for the decisions I make! If it wasn't for me, your home would be fine right now! If it wasn't for me, Link wouldn't have been a target! If it wasn't for me, two of my best friends wouldn't be gone!
It feels like nothing I do leads to anything good." Roxas' voice began to lower. "I've been trying my hardest to distance myself from my past, but no matter how hard I try, it's like just existing will lead to the people around me being hurt."
Sidon reached out a hand to Roxas' shoulder. "Roxas…"
When Roxas looked into the prince's eyes, he could see them shimmer with liquid. The Nobody himself began to feel a familiar sensation of warmth building at the base of his eyes as well, but before it could spill over, he ran away.
He could hear the prince called his name, but he didn't look back. Roxas just kept running until he ended up on the bridge leading into Zora's Domain and stared up at the cloud covered sky. He didn't bother to care about the rain falling on him.
He closed his eyes and was suddenly brought back to the clock tower in Twilight Town. The beautiful setting sun was casting a comfortable warmth across his body as his hand tightly gripped onto a blue sea salt ice cream.
He was laughing, he didn't know at what, but Axel was sitting to his right laughing just as hard as he was. Roxas could see him so clearly as he did his best to contain his amusement at whatever they were laughing at.
The Nobody felt a slim elbow playfully jab him in the side, and he turned to see Xion looking more than embarrassed as her cheeks turned a bright shade of red. She was just as he had remembered her. A slim face with dark black hair and a set of blue eyes.
Roxas couldn't drop his smile as he stared on at the girl who also appeared to struggle at containing a smile. Axel continued to tease her about whatever the topic had been. It didn't matter to Roxas. The memory ended as Xion's serious demeanor was finally broken down.
The memory faded as he heard all three of them laugh. Roxas felt his lips pull up into a smile. His peace was soon interrupted though as he heard footsteps approaching from the direction of the city. He didn't bother to turn his head as they came to his side.
"Thought I'd find you here." Link stated.
Roxas spoke only loud enough to be barely audible. "Hey Link."
"I heard from Sidon what happened with Muzu." Link stated.
"It's the truth." Roxas stated. "Cado being hurt, Impa and Paya being held hostage, you being targeted, and the fire in Zora's Domain… it's all because of me."
"Roxas, you're being ridiculous." Link stated without hesitation.
"How is that ridiculous?" Roxas asked shocked. "If you didn't know me none of this…"
"Did you start the fire?" Link asked.
"No, I didn't, but…"
"Did you target me, hurt Cado, or hold Impa and Paya hostage?" Link asked.
"Again, no but…"
"Then as far as I'm concerned, this is not your fault." Link stated firmly. "You didn't do any of those deeds. These events were out of your control, and you can't blame yourself over everything bad that happens just because it involved you."
"But that's…" Roxas tried.
"I don't want to hear it." Link interrupted. "If you want to play the blame game, then you could blame Impa and Paya for the simple fact that they decided to associate with you. You can blame me for simply being friends with you. Do you see how ridiculous that sounds?"
Roxas opened his mouth to protest before stopping himself. "Exactly, so stop beating yourself up about this. It is not your fault that these things happened. The only people you should be pointing fingers at are those people who hurt your friend. They are the only people responsible."
Roxas thought over everything Link just told him. He couldn't decide for certain if what he said was true, but it certainly left him feeling better hearing it. With that cleared up, Roxas put a hand on his cheek as something else came to mind.
"Link?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember what I told you about myself that one night?" Roxas questioned. "About me not having a…"
"…heart?" Link finished.
"Yeah, that." Roxas nodded. "Well, you saw what happened, right?" Link nodded. "I'm confused about that because it also happened with Xion. I just…" Link placed a hand on his shoulder. "Link… do you think I have a heart?"
"You know… it took me a long time to understand what you had been trying to tell me that night, Roxas. I eventually figured it out. When you told me you didn't have a heart, you were telling me you couldn't feel for others, right?"
Roxas suddenly became nervous over what his friend's response would be, but he nodded. "Yeah…"
Link smiled at him. "As far as I'm concerned, you absolutely have a heart."
Roxas took on an expression of disbelief. "Why do you think that?"
Link smiled. "It's because you care so much Roxas. Why do you think you feel so guilty over what happened here tonight? Why do you think you've been crying about your friends? It's because you care about those things.
You said it best yourself. You gain strength for your friends and stuck with me to this point because we are friends. You feel bad about this because not only do you have a heart, but I dare say you have one of the biggest I've ever seen."
"Really?" Roxas asked in disbelief.
"Of course." Link nodded. "I must ask why you thought you didn't have one?"
Before Roxas could muster a response, Bazz approached the pair. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but the king request the two of you to his throne room."
"I wonder what he wants." Link stated.
Realistically, the hero felt that anything more concerning this situation would have been dealt with among the Zora.
"I think I have an idea." Roxas stated. "Before we leave, I think you should take your own advice Link."
Link was shocked by that before offering a small smile. "Maybe I should."
The pair followed Bazz to the throne room where he took up his position as a guard before they entered to find Dorephan, Sidon, and Muzu in their usual positions.
"Thank you for coming, Roxas and Link." Dorephan stated.
"It's no problem, but what do you need us for." Link asked.
"It's more Roxas, but I knew you'd like to be here with him Link." Dorephan stated. "In light of the recent events, and divulged information, I was hoping to speak to Roxas about what exactly happened tonight."
"Oh, you want to know about Axel?" Roxas questioned.
"Is that his name?" Dorephan asked. "That's a start since we haven't been able to get him to tell us anything for the longest time."
Roxas stared at the king in confusion "What are you talking about?"
The man gestured with his hand to the right of the room where Roxas hadn't been looking. There sat Demyx with his entire body chained from the neck down.
"Demyx?" Roxas questioned.
The blonde lifted his head as he heard his name spoken and smiled as his eyes met Roxas'. "Hey buddy! How have things been going for you?"
The young Nobody stared at Demyx for a long time before asking, "How did they get you?"
Demyx lightheartedly laughed before responding, "Hey buddy, can you try something for me? Could you try and summon a dark corridor?"
"Why would I do that?" Roxas questioned.
"Well, you see…" Demyx shot him a serious look. "…I've been trying for the last hour now, and I can't get mine to pop up. I was wondering if you could show me that it's still working."
"I'm not going to take that chance." Roxas replied.
The older Nobody's face contorted into one of frustration. "I'm not that dangerous! I mean I haven't even hurt anybody here! Come on!"
"Roxas." Dorephan stated ignoring the Organization member. "I wanted to know if this Organization you were part of is in any way connected to the Yiga?"
"To my knowledge, there should be no connection since the Organization only started interacting with this world upon my arrival." Roxas stated. "That fire tonight was only because the Organization likes to stay secret. He wanted to make sure no one was around to disturb him."
"So, you're telling me this Axel started a fire as a cover to get Link alone?" Dorephan asked.
"He was going after Link to get at me." Roxas stated. "I'm sorry."
"I see." Dorephan spoke understandingly "I've been told by Link that you arrived before sending him away to fight this man alone. Both him and my son tell me you emerged victorious and held this man at the end, is that correct?"
"It is." Roxas spoke quietly.
"Wait!" Demyx suddenly called out. "Are you saying what I think you're saying? You didn't… Axel isn't…" He started to growl as he watched Roxas drop his gaze to the floor. "How could you!? I thought you two were supposed to be best friends!
Axel kept telling me about how he wanted to see his friend again. He wanted things to go back to normal, and that's why I decided to help him! I didn't do it because Saix ordered me to! I did it as a favor to him because I could tell he really believed he could bring you back!
I can't believe you would do that to your best friend. I know we're Nobodies, but I still can't believe how heartless you've become! I didn't believe it could have been you to take down Xigbar!
When he didn't come back, I assumed it had been someone else who did him in. Now, I know it was you. You used to be one of my favorites. Just a cute little kid swinging around a keyblade. I see you're just a traitor like everyone said you were."
The room grew quiet after the Nobody's words. Roxas couldn't find the strength to meet the gaze of anyone in the room as his hands curled into quivering fists. Link reached out and put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. When the boy didn't resist, he quickly transitioned the gesture into a hug.
The teen's body remained stiff as he received the hug, but his reclusive demeanor broke as Link spoke. "I know that must have been hard."
Suddenly, a single visible tear ran down Roxas' cheek before the teen quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand. He was tired of crying today. He didn't want to cry anymore.
"Wait… Did you just…" Demyx started before falling silent and casting Roxas a perplexed look.
"It was." Roxas responded while ignoring the other Nobody and reciprocating his friend's hug before releasing him. "Are there any more questions you need to ask?"
"There are." Dorephan nodded respectfully. "I need to talk to you about just who this group you were formerly part of are, and what their overall goal is?"
Roxas looked from Dorephan to Link and took a deep breath as these people deserved to know the truth. "As you've likely learned from Link, they're name is Organization IIIX. They are a group of Nobodies, beings without hearts, seeking to fulfill our leader's, Xemnas', goal."
"Just what is that goal?" Muzu asked.
"To complete Kingdom Hearts." Roxas informed.
A hush fell over the room as Roxas said this.
"Oh, why don't you tell them all of our secrets!?" Demyx shouted annoyed.
"What is 'Kingdom Hearts'?" Sidon asked.
Roxas sighed before admitting, "Honestly, I don't know. All I was told was that completing Kingdom Hearts is the Organization's goal, and I'm somehow the key to achieving that."
"Why is that?" Link asked. "Based on what I've seen, they're composed of more than capable adults. Why would they need you?"
The Nobody shrugged before summoning Bond of Flame to his palm. "This is more than the magic sword you and others assume it to be Link. It, and the other three I can now summon, are known as the keyblade…"
"It gathers the hearts necessary for Kingdom Hearts to be formed." Blurted out Demyx. "It's the only weapon able to."
"Feeling a little bit more helpful, are you?" Muzu questioned as he looked towards the annoyed Nobody.
"Just bored of this slow conversation and hoping to speed it up." Demyx replied.
"Do you want to answer a few more questions in that case?" Muzu asked.
Demyx groaned and thew back his head in irritation. "I was hoping that would be the last one!"
"Wait a moment… Roxas can you answer me something?" Dorephan asked and received a nod in response. "What made you join this Organization in the first place? Why would you help this 'Xemnas' towards achieving his goal when you don't even know what it is you were striving for?"
"It's because…" Roxas wanted to tell them, but he didn't feel comfortable just blurting out what he had recently shared with Link.
A laugh bellowed out from the elder nobody's chest. "Why don't you tell them Roxas? Tell them why we're the way we are? Why we do the things we do?"
"Kingdom Hearts…" Link murmured under his breath before he realized a truth.
"Because we aren't…" Roxas began.
"Because they've been tricked!" Link shouted.
"Link, we weren't tricked." Roxas stated. "It's because we were…"
"I know what you were going to say. It's because you 'have no heart', but I say that's nonsense when you think about it." Stunned silence ensued following Link's comment. "Roxas, you believe that you are incapable of feeling emotions even though they're clear as day.
You have emotions left and right! You believe that you're without your heart where I think you've just been brainwashed to believe these things, so Xemnas can push you towards this 'Kingdom Hearts' goal.
Let me take a wild guess and assume he told you that 'Kingdom Hearts' would somehow restore your heart?" He received a quiet nod as her answer. "Given everything I've seen from you, that makes more sense than not having a heart."
A second silence ensued before the king spoke up. "I assume you have no qualms with allowing us to take this 'Demyx' into our custody?"
"Link and I couldn't keep him with us." Roxas stated. "He was an accomplice to Axel in that attack last night, and he did end up attacking your son."
"Muzu, take Demyx out the doors and bring Bazz with you." King Dorephan stated. "I want you two to take him to the dungeon."
"Wait what?" Demyx responded as he appeared to just be tuning back into the conversation "Hey! Don't pawn me off with this these people!" Muzu began pushing him along. "You're not taking me anywhere! What have I done that's so wrong?"
Muzu scoffed at the statement "You were an accomplice to the fire starter and attacked our prince. That's quite enough to hold you behind bars for quite some time."
"No! Wait now!" Demyx whipped his head back towards Roxas as he was escorted out. "Don't let them take me! C'mon Roxas! Help me please! For old time's sake!"
Roxas stared into the equally blue eyes of Demyx and could see the supposed 'panic' setting in on the Nobody's face. The younger Nobody dropped his gaze after only a few moments and turned away as the man pleaded. Seeing that did make Roxas feel conflicted about agreeing to this.
He also understood that there was very little he could do. Despite how Demyx presented himself, he was still a risk to the people of Hyrule. He did commit those crimes as well. In the end, Roxas didn't even know why he didn't want Demyx taken away despite their opposing sides.
As the doors out opened, Demyx finally understood that his call for help was falling on death ears. "You traitor! Nothing left of the old Roxas I knew. Just some worthless…"
His words were cut off as the doors shut.
"Roxas, I am satisfied in saying that you are still able to remain in Zora's Domain exactly like Link." Dorephan stated. "Now I must ask, are you alright?"
Roxas turned to look up at the king with a tired gaze. "It's been a long day."
Dorephan was more than willing to let the pair go, and the pair promised they'd deal with Vah Ruta the day after tomorrow to allow the younger Nobody time to recuperate. The pair were now walking back to the inn.
"Roxas." Link stated.
"Yes?" Roxas asked.
"Do you ever regret leaving them?" Link asked.
"I don't." The Nobody replied without hesitation. "I knew I had to, and I'm glad I did."
Link smiled "I am too."
I'd like to think that this is a real turning point for Roxas' character. As reiterated in this chapter, Roxas knew he cried before, but didn't know what it was at the time with Xion. This time, he understands the importance of it thanks to Axel. As for the Keyblade of Heart, I view this as an important keyblade since it can specifically unlock a person's heart releasing the darkness within. This variation of the Keyblade of Heart has been tempered by the light and darkness cultivated within Roxas.
If it's not clear where this comes from, since it was kind of dissolved to release the hearts of the seven princesses of light, I would argue that a fragment of it was held somewhere in the mix when Sora turned it on himself. If that boy can hold hearts, it can hold a fragment, and Roxas simply ended up getting it through the growth of his own heart and connection to Sora.
While I get and like what was done at the end of Kingdom Hearts III, considering what gets pulled out, this could have been a get out of jail free card given to Sora. As for acquiring two keyblades here, I'd like to think of it in terms of the game. Bond of Flame came from defeating Axel while Keyblade of Heart would be probably a level up keyblade that just happened to be obtained now. Hopefully you enjoyed.
UltimateAvengers: Thank you.
ultima-owner: Not exactly
Jebest4781: Thanks