Author's Note: Thank you to those who reviewed! I've included individual replies at the end of the chapter.

Just to add since I didn't earlier, there will be spoilers for Chain of Memories. Also just a small note that this chapter will be taking place before the first. To avoid any confusion!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters – they belong to Square and Disney.

Stare Into The Abyss – Chapter Two

The relationship between the heart and the flesh is a complex one.
But since we exist here, they cannot be termed as existent. Therefore I shall call them...
"The non-existent ones."

Axel leaned against the wall as he waited, taking the time to go over everything in his head one last time. The Superior had asked for him to report what had happened back at Castle Oblivion, and he wasn't quite sure what he should and shouldn't tell him. Axel had been ordered to take care of the members who'd been plotting on overthrowing the Organization, but somehow he didn't think that included killing Vexen and bringing about Zexion's death. Axel had his reasons for those, but he didn't think it'd be a good idea to tell the Superior about them. The fact he was the only surviving member was bound to appear suspicious, especially considering Axel had planned for it to be that way…

He couldn't help but feel like the Superior knew a lot more than he appeared to every time he spoke to him either. The man creeped Axel out… He imagined that in the end, it didn't matter what he reported, the Superior probably knew it all anyway. Right down to the last detail.

There were other reasons for his dislike of the Superior… Knowing that he was the one behind the Organization, the one responsible for selecting its members in the first place… Making him the one responsible, in Axel's mind, for why he was a NEO. And Axel didn't like that. He didn't want to be a "no-one" or "incomplete"… Or to have no memory of anything other than the Organization, no knowledge of who or what he'd been before he was a NEO…

…The door beside him swung open and a silver haired boy walked out. Riku. Now there's someone interesting…. He wasn't a NEO, he was complete and yet he used the darkness and the light. Axel hadn't thought that was possible for anyone other than a NEO. He also found himself impressed that the boy was still here after been controlled by Ansem. Of course that had been down to Sora defeating him…

Sora… That was another reason why he was interested in Riku. While Sora was still "sleeping" and regaining his memories at the moment, when he woke up, Axel planned on finding him. It was important that he got a chance to speak to him soon. And what better way to find him than using his best friend he was looking for?

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"Vexen's death was unfortunate, but acceptable…"

Unfortunate? Axel didn't agree with that, he never had liked him. He didn't really like any of the other members much. They weren't his friends and they weren't family, even though they were all he really had. All he knew. Larxene had been one of the few members he had enjoyed speaking with, although her personality had often clashed with his own. A shame she sided with Marluxia.

He tuned back into whatever it was the Superior was saying in time to catch his next question. "What about Zexion?"

Axel kept his expression carefully blank. "Vexen's experiment, disposed, of him."

There was a small grin on the Superior's face and Axel cringed slightly. He knows. He definitely knows…

"You may leave, for now. But I will have need of you again soon. Sora is awake. He's already left Castle Oblivion… You have some, business, with him, don't you?"

Axel blinked but said nothing.

"Perhaps you'll get your chance to speak to him later. For now, I think you should catch up with Riku. He should be waiting for you, I told him you'd… show him around." The Superior smirked.

Axel nodded and turned to leave, but the Superior's words as he headed through the door sent a chill down his back. "You should be very careful Axel. I'd be most unhappy if you betrayed me as well."

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Axel found Riku waiting in the entrance hall. He sighed and walked past him. "Follow me."

Well this is going to be fun. He wouldn't have minded a chance to spend some time "observing" Riku, but the boy radiated with anger and bitterness around the rest of the Organization. So why is he here? How did he end up a member in the first place?

"Where are we going?" Riku was regarding him suspiciously.

"I figured I might as well show you around where you'll be spending most of your time."

As they left Axel recalled what the Superior had just informed him. That Sora was already awake… And I've just been handed my bait.

Somehow this seemed a little too convenient.

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Twilight Town.

A nice place… If it wasn't for the barely contained hatred that the people there felt for the Organization.

He kept the "tour" brief, neither of them speaking much, until they were on their way back to the nearby station that would take them to the Organization Residence. He noticed that Riku had stopped. Turning he spotted him taking out his weapon, the Soul Eater.

"What the hell is that?" Riku hissed quietly.

Axel joined him and looked up a small alley that Riku was facing. A thin white creature with long legs ending in sharp blades was crouching in the shadows watching them.

Axel relaxed and started to walk away. "It won't hurt you. They're Nobodies. That particular one is a Dusk."

Riku glanced at the creature, then at Axel before reluctantly lowering his weapon and following. "What are they?"

"They're controlled by the Organization. They won't attack us."

"Controlled? You mean it'd do whatever you wanted it to?"

"Not what I wanted it to do, no." Axel looked over his shoulder and grinned. "I never learnt how."

"Why not?" Riku asked.

He hesitated a moment before replying. Because there's something disturbing about controlling a creature that's like you in so many ways…

"I only rely on myself."

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Wolf Fangs: Thanks for the review! I can't take all the credit for the title actually, I got the idea for it from a Nietzsche quote.

ellenh92: Breathe! You're not going to practice that anger management on me are you? Thanks for reviewing!

critical-blow: How's that for some more? I'm glad you found it interesting!

Saddened Soul: I agree, Axel is indeed a great character – he didn't seem like someone you could label "evil" or "good" to me, I always find those types of characters pretty interesting. As for the other characters, I pretty much know where I want to go with the story now, and there's a few I'd like to include, it's just working them into it, so – we'll see!

Author's Note: That was a surprisingly hard chapter to write! I much prefer writing action based scenes and this was more an attempt at setting the story up. I found that difficult to do without giving too much away all in one go. Sorry nothing was really answered from the first chapter, but I promise it's leading up to it.

Please let me know what you think!