From his perch on the rooftop, Axel surveyed the streets of Twilight Town. The fiery-haired Nobody frowned, bright green eyes carefully examining the civilians and the pedestrians. Where the hell did those kids go?
All day, Axel had been following – Saix and Xaldin would call it "stalking", but to hell with them – those kids Roxas associated himself with. It wasn't in his body's best interest – Roxas sure knew how to wield a Keyblade or two – to play this scavenger hunt of his, but Axel had to know. He had to know the truth, even when he was half-sure what the truth was.
Roxas had disappeared.
A breeze ruffled Axel's hair, red spikes swaying in the wind. That was a truth Axel wasn't ready to accept, not with Roxas on the line. Axel swore under his breath in disgust.
On the city streets below, Axel could see one of those damn kids – he didn't know her name, and he didn't care to know it, so Axel affectionately nicknamed her "Girl" – emerged from an old, beat-down alley beneath the train tracks. Axel curiously tilted his head to the side, and leaned forward from his stoop. Well, that's one.
Girl seemed concerned, perhaps even melancholy. Axel wasn't that good at reading people's emotions. He never could do it at the Castle, his kin were either mindless drones or frozen walls.
His thoughts drifted back to the kids when the other members of Roxas' new gang emerged – two boys Axel nicknamed "Chubby" and "Punk".
They talked amongst themselves. Punk seemed angry, while Girl and Chubby tried to calm him down. They talked some more, boring Axel to tears because he couldn't hear what they were saying. Suddenly, Punk stormed off in one direction. Axel groaned in dismay as Girl and Chubby ran after him, shouting "Haine!" ( That was his name? Axel liked his nickname better. )
Sighing to himself, Axel rose from his crouched position, dusted his robes off, and spun on his heel to come face-to-face with Naminé.
Startled, Axel blinked and took a step back. His lips tugged into his smug grin when he realized that it wasn't Saix or Sora or Diz or, hell, even the bloody Superior that was spying on him. "Oh, it's just you," Axel grinned, folding his arms over his chest. "How's it goin', memory witch? I haven't seen you since the Castle Oblivion project."
Naminé blinked at him slowly, then lowered her expressive eyes to stare at her sandals, a hand loosely twirling a lock of blonde hair. "I'm fine," she said softly. Axel couldn't help himself but grin at the pathetic girl. She was as frightened as ever.
"Good for you," Axel nodded, reaching a hand out to pat the girl on the head. A thought struck him – maybe he could get this girl to help him out. "Hey, Naminé, I know we've had our differences in the past – really sorry about the kidnapping thing – but I was thinking maybe you could – "
"You won't find him here," she murmured.
The grin dropped, and Axel stared at her blankly, arm outstretched. "What?"
Naminé raised her head, and to Axel's surprise, brought her gaze up to his. She was silent, and Axel remembered how creepy the girl was. Her vibrant blue eyes bored into his, and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable, as if Naminé was probing through his memories. "Axel, he is no longer in this world."
He felt a pang of horror. "You mean – "
"Sora left yesterday. You won't find him or Roxas in Twilight Town anymore."
Axel's heart sank. He lowered his arm and shut his eyes, sighing heavily. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. What the hell was he going to do now? If Roxas was with the Keyblade Master, then there was no way he would ever get his friend – his only friend – back.
Axel craned his head up towards the twilight this city was named after. "I'm going to kill that bandaged bastard," Axel growled, clenching his fists. "Screw him and his goddamned prejudices." He brought his head back to Naminé's eyelevel. "Why the hell are you working with him, anyway?"
Several emotions flashed in her expressive eyes, and Naminé's mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. She had a look on her face as if Axel had discovered her dirtiest secret, like he had defiled her in some way. Axel could see her hands trembling, and a small smirk crossed his lips when he saw Naminé clasp her shaking hands together. "What do you mean?" she asked.
He shrugged. "You. Riku. The King. Why are you helping him?" He'd heard the reports of Riku and King Mickey flocking to Diz's campaign after the Castle Oblivion incident.
She paused. "Because we believe in something," answered Naminé, lifting her head back up to Axel.
A fleeting morbid feeling filled his senses. Roxas had said the same thing to him, not too long ago. The morbid feeling was replaced by seething anger, the anger he'd somehow managed to hold back against the memory witch, against Diz, against this fucking irony that was his life. He could feel it burning beneath his skin, like the fires he controlled.
Naminé cried in fear. Axel stared at his palm and saw it burning with white-hot flames. The memory witch took two steps back, covering her face with her pale palms. Axel swore and dismissed the flames, kicking himself for loosing control like that.
"Relax, witch, I'm not killing you." He offered the girl a smile, but Naminé could only watch him in fear.
"You're not welcome here, Axel," she said shakily. "Using your powers like that is only going to – "
"Summon Diz?" Axel finished her sentence for her. "I'm not afraid of him, but…" He sighed, grudgingly admitted that the last time he picked a fight with Diz, he sustained more injuries then he had ever received. "I'm not interested in killing him right now."
Naminé was quiet. "That won't stop him from coming, Axel." She sounded almost fearful of her new employer. For good reason, Diz's prejudices were legendary.
"Yeah, I know," he grunted, cracking his neck. "Well, if Roxas isn't here, I'll go look for him elsewhere." He waved his hand, and the familiar darkness portal appeared behind him almost instantly. "I'm going to run into the Keyblade Master somewhere," he shrugged.
When Naminé said nothing, Axel decided it was time to go. He stuck his hand into the chilling vortex of shadows, and was about to dive into the darkness when Naminé called out to him.
Axel craned his head over his shoulders. "Yeah?"
A pause. "I hope you find your peace, Axel."
This time, he had no words to say to her – no witty remarks, no snide comments, no smug grin, and no sly smiles. Instead, Axel nodded at her.
He plunged himself into darkness and left Twilight Town far, far behind him.