Author's Note: I want to thank everyone who submitted a review in; these little things are the first I've ever posted online, and the warm welcome they're receiving is very encouraging. ; At least until the end of the summer, I'll be adding chapters regularly, and I hope you enjoy all of them. Thank you again, and please keep letting me know what you think!
Disclaimer: No. I don't own Kingdom Hearts II, nor do I seek profit off of any of my fiction. It is simply for entertainment purposes alone, and not meant to be distributed at a price. Besides, who would buy this crap anyway?
The day after Roxas left was the worst.
He was almost afraid to walk down the halls of the castle because he'd either meet an enraged Xemnas or a defeated Axel, and the thought of the latter was too much. He was used to seeing Xemnas angry, but that was when he himself had pissed the Superior off. Demyx didn't like getting hit, especially if he had nothing to do with the situation.
Axel, probably his best friend in the Organization, was a brash, loud-mouthed, stand-offy kind of guy. He held very true to his fire element with his heated temper, his aptitude at destruction, and the way he burned his own path to walk. Demyx liked that side of Axel, even if it had gotten them both into a lot of trouble.
Now that fire was doused, and Axel was barely a spark of his old self.
The rest of the Organization were taking things as expected; Xigbar kept quiet around the two, Xaldin was upset they'd lost a Keyblade wielder, Saix was mad because Xemnas was mad, and Luxord simply didn't care either way.
Demyx stopped. Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Saix, Axel, himself, and Luxord. That really was all that's left of Organization XIII; seven people. Five of them were dead, or whatever it was when a Nobody lost their body, and the last one was gone. And more than likely going to get his heart back.
It was nice, and he wasn't jealous of Roxas. He still had his heart after all, he still had his emotions. But he knew that he wasn't going to feel it beat ever again; he figured that much out shortly after joining.
Axel used to have a heart too, and he definitely had emotions. But Roxas had that one too, and he left it behind just like he left everyone else behind. He could have at least taken Axel with him; they both could have left. Xemnas wouldn't have been any angrier than he already was.
Because he couldn't feel anything anyway, right?
Demyx wouldn't have minded. Sure, he would have been lonely, because he could feel loneliness, but it would have been for the best for both of them. Axel and Roxas could have had a happy ending together.
Now, Roxas was all but gone inside Sora's own beating heart, and Axel could only hate. He hated the Organization for driving Roxas away, for bringing the two of them together, for everything. He hated himself for not being strong enough to save Roxas, for letting him leave in the first place. But most of all Axel hated the fact he couldn't hate, because didn't that mean he didn't love either?
Demyx had tried to comfort him back then, by telling him he did have emotions and a heart, and he even encouraged Axel to go after Roxas. Axel simply said he didn't need to get left behind again to see that Roxas didn't care.
That was the first time he'd ever heard Axel admit defeat. That was also the first time he'd ever hit anyone. He yelled at him, calling him stupid for giving up so easily, for letting something like that go without a fight. He stormed off and had another first that night; he purposely ran into their Superior and asked him if it wasn't possible to get Roxas back. He tried explaining with his own logic that they could always look for him and try to convince him to join again. Xemnas had stopped Demyx short with his own logic, which included a few bruises on Demyx's part.
But that must have done it, because shortly afterwards Axel had left the Organization on orders to search for Roxas; orders that said he'd either bring him back or kill him. He'd found him though; Axel told Demyx that he didn't remember anything but there was a shot at getting him back, Axel knew it. Demyx believed him, and he told him to go after him; to Hell with his orders.
It was a good thing though that no one else in the Organization knew, or Demyx would have been used for target practice by Saix and his claymore. But really, it was his fault that Axel went a-wall, but he couldn't feel bad. Their Organization was down to six members, and as he looked over his orders to go to Hollow Bastion, he knew it'd be down to five soon enough.
It didn't really bother him too much; all he really hoped for was that Roxas and Axel could have a happy ending together, that they'd both at the very least get to say goodbye.
It didn't really bother him too much that he didn't have anyone to say goodbye to himself either.