A/N: This chapter has been reimagined many times, running the gamut of scenarios from idyllic to violent. After studying Axel's motivations in depth – and what a finicky character he is! – I decided it would be best to stick to a near-canon version of events. I can only hope I've managed to do this intense, heart-wrenching scene justice…

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4. The Ashes of Our Promise

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Gut twisting in anticipation, Roxas exits the dark corridor, Xion on his heels. The grass crunches under their feet as they materialise in the clearing outside the mansion grounds. Behind them, the gates once again bar the entrance, having been closed and resealed during their sojourn.

Here, a familiar someone stands in wait.

He is tall and lanky, with his Organisation coat tailored to emphasise his build. But there's a noticeable stoop to his shoulders, and his distinctive mane of red hair is frazzled, testament to the number of times he must've run his hand through it. Deep shadows encircle his gem-green eyes, which contain none of their usual liveliness. All in all, he looks worn. Haggard.

"Why, this job has gotten even ickier," he mutters to himself, his gaze darting between them.

"Axel," they greet him in unison.

"Xion, Roxas." The insouciant drawl that characterises the eighth Organisation member returns, and he takes several strides forward, putting himself within combat distance. Although anyone has yet to draw their weapons, the air positively bristles with tension. "I didn't expect to find you together, but I'm hardly surprised. You two are magnets for each other… and for trouble."

When neither of them reply to that, he studies the architecture around and above their heads. "So, this is where the other team decided to set up camp, huh? Right under our very noses." Then he turns his attention onto Roxas. "Funny, it's also the same spot where the boss found you on your first day. The day you became one of us."

"Yeah, I sorta remember," Roxas replies lackadaisically, trying to figure out what the older Nobody is getting at.

That becomes apparent with Axel's next sentence, delivered with a narrowing of shrewd green eyes. "It's awfully poetic, isn't it, coming back to the place you began? Since you're here, I guess this means you've already been brought up to speed about everything you wanna know."

Roxas frowns. "That's something you could've done, but you chose not to." His brows draw lower, and before he realises it, he is glaring daggers at Axel. "You lied to me."

The redhead's lips peel back in a humourless grin. "I had every reason to."

"You destroyed my trust in you!" The words burst out of Roxas unbidden.

"What should I have done, then?" Axel raises his voice to match, abandoning his obvious façade of calm. "Lay out the truth? Nothing good would've come from it. Just look at us now. The results speak for themselves!"

Roxas clenches his fists. This is too much like the argument they'd had prior to his leaving the castle, where the frayed remains of their friendship had burned down to cinders. "Even if it's all bad news, don't I have the right to know?"

The redhead lets out a derisive huff. "What garbage rhetoric. Ever heard of the saying 'ignorance is bliss'? If you and Xion had never learned about any of this, you'd both still be in the castle, happy and safe!"

"It's the principle behind it! I should get to decide whether or not I wanna hear the truth!"

"Would you tell your friend the truth if it was only gonna lead them to their death?"

Snapping his jaw shut, Roxas hisses through his teeth. That was a valid point. "Well—"

"Admit it, you won't," Axel overrides his substance-less fumble of a retort. "Or at the very least, you'd struggle to do it."

Then he flings out his arms before letting them fall back down, releasing a dramatic sigh in the process. "But everything I've done to hide the truth was a crapshot. You've found out your true destiny: going back to Sora." His features contort in ostensible pain. "You're both gonna die. I'm gonna lose you both at once."

"I—I haven't agreed to it," Roxas blurts out, consumed by the sudden urge to console his friend. Yet he's less certain of his answer than he was two mere hours ago, when he'd first come upon this terrible turn of events.

"But you have, haven't you, Xion?" Axel prompts, turning to the third and hitherto-silent member of their trio.

She nods. "It's what I must do." There isn't the slightest waver in her voice.

"Then it's only a matter of time before you follow her," the redhead concludes gravely, gesturing at Roxas. "You'll follow her, throw both of your lives away, and leave me behind."

Roxas furrows his eyebrows. "What makes you so sure?"

There's a wistful curve to Axel's mouth. "Because you never were able to stand being apart from Xion. You've always taken her side, even from the beginning. She's… special to you in a way that nothing else is."

Try as he might, Roxas cannot refute those words. Maybe it's because Xion had always seemed so vulnerable, in need of his support and protection – unlike Axel, the older, unflappable mentor-figure. Or maybe all of this stems from his unusually strong feelings for her, a phenomenon that Axel too had observed and recognised.

"But that's all moot anyway," Axel carries on, his expression hardening, "'cause I'm not gonna let it happen. I'm gonna bring both of you back, starting with you, Xion. Got double the incentive – they'll destroy me if I refuse. Absolute orders be like that, y'know?"

Xion wrings her hands, her turmoil evident. "I'm really sorry, Axel. I hate to make you choose between my life and yours, but I—I can't go back to the Organisation."

"Well, I guess that makes me the sorry one, Xion," the older Nobody points out, though he sounds distinctly unapologetic. "I'm afraid self-preservation is pretty high on my priority list. And so is keeping both of you alive."

"Axel," Xion's manner grows urgent, "that's not something you have the power to do. There isn't anything that will stop me from draining Roxas' life-force. I can't control it. Just being close to me will make him weaker and weaker, until he… won't wake up anymore."

Stubbornness is clear in the rigid set of Axel's face. "Then we'll keep you two separated for as long as we need to!"

"How long do you think we can realistically keep that up for?" Roxas interjects. The idea is shaky at best, not to mention there's a part of him that just revolts at the thought of staying away from Xion indefinitely. "Besides, that's not even accounting for what the Organisation thinks of us. We're traitors! There's no way they'd take us back!"

"Maybe not with open arms, but you're not on the permanent hit-list yet!" Axel counters, as though there isn't any fate worse than becoming the Organisation's target for elimination. "If you come back voluntarily, I'm sure they'll let you off the hook. In case you forgot, we need Keyblade wielders. Kingdom Hearts ain't gonna complete itself. What matters to Xemnas is that you're still under his thumb."

"So, if we continue to do his dirty work, he'll sweep it all under the carpet, huh?"

"Something like that."

Roxas scoffs. Though the Superior's convoluted plans may be beyond him, he's nowhere near stupid enough to think that he and Xion would get away scot-free. "Yeah right."

This prompts Axel to try a different approach. "Look at it this way: it'll at least give the three of us another chance to be together! Don't you want that?" A note of forlornness steals into his otherwise argumentative voice, and his hands flop down to his sides. "Even if it's only for a little while longer?"

Taken aback, Roxas hangs his head. "I do want that. More than anything."

"Then why're you giving up already?" Laid bare, the pleading in Axel's expression is almost too painful to look at.

As Roxas scours his mind for an answer, Xion reclaims control of the conversation. "We're not giving up, Axel; we're choosing to do what's right. I'm not going to stand by and let Roxas waste away because of me. By returning to Sora, I'm doing what's best for everyone."

Axel stares at her in disbelief. "It's only best for Sora and the other side. Our fucking enemies!"

Xion shakes her head. "I'm a puppet, with no purpose other than to be used and thrown away. If I'm going to die, Axel, I want my death to have some meaning."

"Why are you still refusing to listen?" Axel punctuates his question with a thump of fists against his thighs. "You don't need to die in the first place!"

"So, I should let myself be a puppet for Xemnas instead?" Xion rejoins, a pitying smile on her lips. "Kingdom Hearts is a sham, Axel."

"How do you know that?" the older Nobody retorts, though the frantic movement of his eyes betrays his discomfiture at her statement. "And even if it is, it's keeping the Organisation from destroying you outright!"

"We're better off without them."

His brows soar into his widow's peak. "Better off dead?"

"That's guaranteed either way," Xion replies with quiet, devastating confidence. "When Kingdom Hearts is complete, Xemnas will have no further use for me or Roxas. He'll dispose of us; we cause too much trouble."

Axel waves about a frustrated hand. "So you'd rather let the other side dispose of you now?"

Angling her jaw up, Xion locks gazes with the redhead. "Giving Sora back his memories is the right thing to do. Helping Xemnas along with his plans is not."

"It's all so black and white to you, isn't it?" Axel sneers, tossing out his right palm, and then his left. "What's right, what's wrong."

"I know this is right."

With exaggerated vigour, Axel throws up his arms into the air. "What's your problem? I'm trying to give you another way out, and you're tossing it aside like so much trash! Why can't you stop to consider it for just one teensy moment? That's all I ask!"

Xion's eyes are wide with apology, but there's an all-too-familiar resolve in them – the same resolve she'd directed at Roxas numerous times earlier. "Axel, I already have. The time I went back after I first ran away says enough about how the Organisation will treat me. Things have only escalated since then. Roxas and I just… don't belong there."

Silence descends in the wake of her reply, tense and gravid. Then it shatters as Axel heaves a loud sigh. "So that's how it is. You're gonna be pigheaded until the very end. Well, that leaves me no other choice."

Bracing his feet apart, he thrusts his shoulders back. Wreathes of flame appear around his hands, solidifying into his signature pair of chakrams. "If taking you back by force is the only way, then I will do it. I'm gonna bring us all home – even if I must hurt you in the process!"

In response, Xion summons her Keyblade and assumes a double-handed ready stance – a mirror of Roxas' own. "I'm sorry things have come down to this, Axel."

Roxas glances frantically between them. Though he can't say he hadn't expected this outcome, seeing it manifest in reality – for the second time, no less – is more than he can bear. "Guys, no!" He throws Axel a wild, betrayed look. "Axel, I told you not to harm her!"

"And I said that's up to her, didn't I?" the redhead growls back.

"I'm to blame; I've pushed him into this," Xion interjects before Roxas can open his mouth to argue. Turning back to the older Nobody, she continues, "Axel, please don't hold back. Promise."

Her words cause Axel to clench his eyes shut, his whole frame shaking. When he reopens them a moment later, Roxas sees a world of misery reflected in their emerald depths. "Goddammit, Xion."

Then he lunges forward, prompting Xion to do the same. Keyblade and chakrams clash in a cacophony of sparks and screeching metal. Then they separate and collide again, over and over, as their owners continue their contest of indomitable wills. Around each other the two Nobodies prowl, stepping forward to deliver a strike, or backing away from harm. Neither lets up for even one second, lest their opponent gain the upper hand.

Neither can afford to lose.

It's an deadlier, higher-stakes encore of their last fight, which took place some fifty days ago in another corner of the same town. And just like before, Roxas is delegated to the sidelines. As he looks on, anxiety swelling fit-to-burst within his chest, his fists clench tighter and tighter. Will he be the helpless bystander he was back then, frozen in horror while the two people he cared most about proceeded to hurt each other—

"Guys, please stop it!" he screams.

His plea goes unheeded. If anything, it spurs on the combatants on, fuels the desperation in their attacks. Magic enters their fighting repertoire. Axel sends swarms of fireballs after Xion, who counters with rivulets of ice. As they whoosh past him, Roxas can feel the dichotomy of their opposing magic. One is a brief, searing heat that makes him flinch away in reflex, while the other is a lingering chill that steals the warmth from the ambient air. If anything can be said of these spells, it's that they're serious, cast with the intention to injure or debilitate.

All the while, Axel and Xion hammer at each other with their weapons. Xion uses her shorter height to her advantage, ducking easily under the redhead's swipes to swing at his knees. Axel, on the other hand, exploits his opponent's limited reach, keeping her at bay with a continuous bombardment of ranged attacks. Ultimately, this strategy, combined with his greater combat experience, gives him the edge. After a minute or so, it becomes clear that Xion is struggling to keep up. The gap continues to widen between them.

"Xion, watch out!"

Too busy fending off Axel's latest salvo of Fire spells, Xion loses track of one of his airborne chakrams. It flies behind her before looping around, its trajectory obvious to all but her. A sharp cry tears from her throat as it slams into her upper back, knocking her forward. It's barely in the nick of time that she regains her footing enough to raise her Keyblade, deflecting Axel's other incoming chakram.

"NOOOOOO!"

Keyblade flashing into his hand, Roxas rushes into the fray. The momentary flash of triumph in Axel's eyes morphs into alarm as Roxas leaps in front of him, teeth bared in a feral snarl.

"I won't let you hurt Xion anymore!"

He doesn't give the older Nobody a chance to reply. Driven by rage, Roxas brings his Keyblade down upon Axel. The redhead swings his chakrams forward to parry, but Roxas doesn't let up, raining blow after blow upon him. Attacking his opponents hard enough to put them on the constant back foot has always been Roxas' modus operandi. It's certainly working now, holding down Axel's full attention and keeping him away from Xion.

But Roxas' energy is draining away fast. Staying on the offensive requires a great deal of stamina, something he's short on in recent days. Perhaps during the time that his and Xion's powers are in balance, Roxas would be strong enough to face off Axel alone. That's definitely not the case now. Every counterattack Axel deals to him rattles his joints, exacerbates the burn of fatigue in his muscles. As the seconds pass by, it becomes more and more crucial that Xion rejoin the fight.

By double-teaming Axel, they'll be able to end the fight quickly – before Roxas turns into a liability.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watches as Xion produces a Hi-Potion vial from her pocket and gulps down the contents. Injuries attended to, she wastes no time in rushing to Roxas' aid. Together, they round on Axel, pushing the odds decisively in their favour. Under their combined assault, Axel falters. His movements slacken, and his attack patterns give way to something more disorganised and erratic.

Just as Roxas suspects they might've worn Axel down enough for him to call it quits, he dances out of their reach and undoes their efforts with a quick chug of his own Hi-Potion. The curative works on him in the same miraculous fashion as it had with Xion, restoring him to fighting health in a matter of seconds. It isn't an unexpected setback, really – Roxas should've realised sooner that their habit of carrying medicine into combat goes both ways.

They'll just have to wear Axel down again.

But their opponent's extra Potions may prove a problem. Those could prolong the fight longer than necessary, beyond the scope of Roxas' limited endurance. Seizing the next opportunity, Roxas smashes his Keyblade against Axel's thigh, where he knows the pocket is located. His aim is true, as evidenced by the clink of shattering glass alongside Axel's grunt of pain.

The redhead stumbles away, patting his ruined pocket. When he turns out its contents, there are only broken shards coated in the Hi-Potion's fluorescent green fluid. His dismayed wince does not bring about any sense of satisfaction within Roxas, only something bitter and resigned.

"Fucking hell, Roxas! Why you gotta do that…"

Biting back his automatic apology, Roxas steps into his place by Xion's side. Thus they present a united front against their mutual best friend.

Axel looks between them, and the shift in his expression makes it clear that he recognises his impending defeat. Something terrible and desperate takes shape in his eyes. "You wanna fight dirty, huh? Well, I'll just have to return the favour!"

Without warning, a wall of flame erupts between Roxas and Xion. He leaps out of the way, only to realise that's exactly what Axel wants: to separate them. True to said realisation, the wall expands into a gigantic, impassable barrier that divides the entire field. While it's probably costing Axel the remainder of his magic reserves, it also lets him single them out and concentrate on one target at a time.

What Roxas hadn't anticipated is the fact that Axel would choose him.

He blocks the first incoming chakram, but the second, enchanted with deadly fire, bypasses his guard. There is a hot rush of pain as it connects with his middle, forcing the air out of his lungs. Then Roxas knows only agony as he is struck over and over, his small body giving out under the barrage of fiery punishment.

Soundly thrashed, Roxas collapses onto the desiccated grass, smoke rising from his coat. Having served its purpose, the wall of fire evaporates.

"Roxas!" Between the pain and his thoroughly scrambled senses, Roxas is finding it difficult to make out what's happening. But he recognises Xion's scream, feels the patter of her approaching footsteps. They stop near him; Xion must be surveying the damage. "Axel, how could you?"

"It was two-versus-one!" the redhead barks back, sounding almost as distraught as she is. "I had to use whatever leverage there is!"

"You hurt Roxas!" He had never heard Xion shout like that before, her voice filled with such intense, righteous fury. "I'll make you pay for that!"

As Roxas turns his pounding head for a better view, a brilliant white aura engulfs Xion and her Keyblade, which transforms into a beam three times its normal length. She rushes at Axel, who proves no match for her powered-up form. Her attacks are swift and devastating, a series of wide slashes that cut through his increasingly sloppy parries. Soon he is helpless to defend himself, leaving Xion to toss him around like a ragdoll.

Maybe Roxas is imagining things; his vision is getting blurrier by the second. But Xion's image seems to flicker as she zips back and forth around Axel. Her face changes into that of a boy's – one identical to Roxas' own – and her hair lightens and grows, becoming a shaggy mess of chestnut-brown spikes.

By the end of it, Axel is a crumpled heap on the ground, while Xion stands over him, victorious. She has resumed her normal black-haired appearance, making Roxas wonder if that weird… flicker was indeed a figment of his hazy imagination. He also feels more exhausted than ever, blanketed by a weariness so profound that it seems to have sunk into his very bones. Had Xion unintentionally drained too much energy from him by using her Limit Break?

"Man… you did a serious number on me, Xion," Axel pants.

"I didn't want to, Axel," Xion replies, fixing the redhead with an unforgiving stare. "But you hurt Roxas. You took advantage of his weakness and gambled on his life. It made me so angry."

A pained chuckle escapes the older Nobody. "Can't blame ya. Speaking of which, you'd better… check up on him…"

Xion turns around. "Roxas?"

He can barely move. Even something so simple as drawing breath takes a tremendous effort. His limbs may as well be fixed lead weights for what little strength he can muster, and his already unfocussed vision is swimming with black dots. It would be so easy to let his eyes drift shut and surrender to the encroaching darkness—

"Roxas, please! Stay with me!"

Xion's warm presence settles by his side, and he finds his upper body hoisted up and cradled within protective arms. His lips part willingly as she presses a vial against his mouth and tips the contents within. The liquid burns on the way down. However many times Roxas may have imbibed Potions and the like, he had never grown accustomed to the acrid flavour.

The effect is almost instantaneous. For the next few seconds, Roxas is engulfed by white heat as his broken flesh and bones knit themselves back together at a hyper-accelerated rate. Then it evaporates, leaving him blessedly free of pain. He doesn't need to check beneath his clothes to know that every wound had been erased as though they'd never existed.

Raising a gloved hand, Xion tenderly brushes his fringe away from his face. "How're you feeling now?"

"B-Better," Roxas wheezes, fighting the battered sensations that linger about his insides. The Hi-Potion may have patched over his injuries, but it doesn't leave him more energised than before. "T-Thanks, Xion."

"So, you'll really leave me behind," Axel's scratchy voice recaptures their attention.

Both Roxas and Xion turn towards him. "Axel…"

He thumps his chest, spluttering. "It's… no more than I deserve, heh. I suppose I owe you two an explanation…"

"Let's hear it," Xion replies, giving an agreeable nod.

The redhead pauses for a moment to consider his words, and his features take on a melancholic cast. "You – both of you – really mean something to me, y'know? I was prepared to do anything to keep us together. Even… hurt you.

"All the secrets, all the lies… Every dirty little side-job… I did that for us. I knew we couldn't stay together. I knew that from the very beginning. But I wanted to keep the illusion going for a bit longer…

"Being with you two… made me feel… like I had a heart." He moves his hand over his chest, clutching at the tattered fabric there. "I just… didn't expect it to hurt this much, y'know? If I was really Somebody… I don't think I can bear the pain."

A great sigh escapes him, and his arm falls back down as he sinks lower onto his knees. "I've failed you so badly. I went about it all wrong. And the price I must pay… is to lose the both of you. Everything I've done… it feels like it was all for nothing." He inhales sharply; it almost sounds like a sob.

Overtaken by the sudden need to get words out of his still uncooperative lungs, Roxas coughs and clears his throat several times. "Axel, t-that's not true," he eventually croaks out. "It may be over for us… but it isn't for you. You still get to be yourself. You're still free."

But Axel shakes his head slowly, sadly. "You just don't get it, do you? It is all over."

The telltale black mist of a dark corridor surrounds him, coalescing into an inky circle around his feet. "Xion, Roxas." Their names fall from his lips in a fond murmur that Roxas has never heard from him before. "Let's meet again… in the next life. Then we'll go to the beach together, the three of us."

Hearing that old promise kindles a familiar warmth inside Roxas' chest, though this time it's accompanied by a dull ache. "Yeah… I'd like that."

"Can you imagine it?" Axel continues in as fanciful a voice as he can manage, as though weaving a tale to spellbound children. "Blue seas, blue skies, the smell of salt in the air, the sound of the waves… We'll all sit against a tree somewhere, talking and eating ice-cream and watching the sun set."

"That sounds w-wonderful, Axel," Xion replies, her words at odds with the tremor in her voice, the tears streaming unashamedly down her cheeks.

A small smile blooms across the older Nobody's face. For some reason, it highlights the strange marks under his eyes. They're reverse teardrops, Roxas realises with a painful lance of comprehension.

"It does, doesn't it? Such a beautiful, silly dream."

The dark corridor swells to its full height, engulfing him before dissipating into shadowy wisps. Axel is gone, and only emptiness remains in his wake.