Hello everyone. I really appreciate how many reviews you all have submitted to this story and would really appreciate it if you wrote more.
And now on with the story.
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Chapter Eight: Looking into the Heart
Axel had been having these weird dreams lately. He found it strange that a person with no heart could still dream, especially ones that were so vivid like his. He dreamt about Roxas for three nights in a row. It was the same story repeating over and over again, every night- like a series of books. Roxas would come into his room, yell at Axel to wake him up, and they'd go play together for hours on end. The conclusion of these dreams was when Roxas left him and the Organization. He remembered how bad it felt to see his best friend turn his back on him and step into the dark abyss, seemingly never to be seen again. It was so strange that a person with no heart could feel such pain as his best friend disappeared for so long. He could remember Roxas's voice and that dopey smile he always had on when they had fun. He would miss those days. He knew now that Roxas had matured out of that period in his life, and nothing in the world would ever change that…
Axel opened his eyes and took a deep breath in, adjusting his eyes to the darkness in his room. It was always dark here, but Saïx's room was brighter than most because the elf always loved the moon to shine inside and illuminate everything. He felt a warm breath on the back of his neck, along with the touch of a hand run across his side, traveling down to curl around his tiny stomach. Axel suddenly realized that he wasn't wearing a cloak anymore. He turned around slowly and realized that Saïx was laying down on the bed right next to him, with eyes completely open.
"Mornin' sleepyhead," he said, scooting closer to Axel. "Man, you sure are warm."
"Eeeeeeew!" yelled Axel, rolling over to the edge of the bed, pulling the covers up to cover his half naked body. "I thought I told you not to touch me!"
"I didn't touch you," said Saïx.
"Then how the hell did my cloak get off of my body!"
"I removed it with my mind."
That had to be the most pathetic excuse Axel had ever heard in his short, miserable life.
"Yeah right," he said. "I felt you touching my tummy with your hand just a few seconds ago."
"No you didn't," said Saïx very quickly.
"Yes I did, Saïx. I think I know what I think about."
"So? I think I know what you think you think about, Axel."
"Ugh. You're worse than Demyx. Now where's my cloak?"
"I dunno."
Axel's brain went asplodey.
"Yes you do. You're the one who hid it."
"No, I did not hide it. You hid it."
"Why would I hide my own cloak?"
"I dunno. Maybe you just didn't want me to see it."
This was going absolutely nowhere.
"Okay. How about this, elfie?" asked Axel in a tone that simply said "I'm gonna rip your eyes out right now if you ignore me." "You tell me where my damn cloak is, I'll tear you limb from limb this very second."
"Ooooh," said Saïx mockingly. "I like that offer of yours, but I'm afraid Xemnas wouldn't be too pleased with you. After all, he does play favorites."
Saïx laid down on his back and twirled a strand of bright blue hair around his index finger, looking up at Axel with the most pleading eyes he could muster (which actually turned out pretty well, on the Cute Scale). Axel was beginning to get the hint.
"What exactly is it that you want, Saïx?" he blurted out, almost afraid of what Saïx's answer would be.
"Well, I don't know," said Saïx extremely evilly. "Come here and I'll tell."
"This…is….ridiculous," said Axel, scooting towards Saïx. "You could've told me from a distance."
"No, I couldn't have. In fact, you're a bit far away where you are, so why don't you come closer?"
"No way. My limit to closeness with you is a three foot radius."
"Sorry to hear that, Axel. I guess I'll have to move closer to y-o-u."
Saïx moved on top of Axel, who was squirming underneath him, nearly suffocating with all of the weight that was on top of him.
"Get offa me!" he yelled.
"Aw shuddup," said Saïx, elbowing him in the stomach. "It's always me, me, me with you. Can't you ever think of anyone else?"
"What are you talking about!" yelled Axel, after taking in a huge gulp of air. "Why the HELL do you say things that have no relevance whatsoever and then make me all confused because I don't understand what they mean!"
"Cause I'm mean like that, that's why."
If Xemnas didn't respect him so much, Axel would've kicked Saïx's ass right there.
"Fine!" yelled Axel. "Just tell me what you want me to do so I can get my fricken cloak back!"
"Hmmmmm….thinking here, give me a second…."
Axel just finally pushed the blue-haired elf off of his tiny little body, causing Saïx to groan weirdly.
"Fine, I've got the perfect idea!" he yelled.
"What is it?"
Saïx scooted over to Axel's side and whispered something in Axel's ear, making Axel punch him in the face.
"You sicko!" he yelled angrily. "There is no way in hell I'll do that! I'll just use one of my spare robes…"
"I kinda hid those too," said Saïx evilly. "And I'm not giving them back until you do what I said."
"Fine. But no videotaping or anything!"
"Yeah, whatever."
Axel stormed out of Saïx's room, cloakless and everything and walked down the hall to Demyx's room…
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Demyx was lying down in bed, plucking some random strings on his sitar, when suddenly he heard a knock at his door.
"Who is it?" he asked, bolting upright.
"Just open the door!" came a muffled reply. It sounded like Axel.
"I'm coming! Just hold on a sec!"
Outside the door, Axel wondered why he asked Demyx to come in when he could've just passed through the door. The lock on the door clicked and it opened, revealing Mullet Man, confused as ever.
"Uh…Axel?" he asked. "Why are you only wearing underwear?"
Axel knew Saïx was watching him from the back of the hall. As much as he hated to say this, he needed his clothes.
"Um…..because I want to…erm…uh….bleh…"
"You want to what?" asked Demyx. "I can't really understand you."
"I…uh…"
He swore Saïx had whipped out a camcorder that very instant.
"I…want you to…take me into bed and have your way with me."
"WHAT?"
Saïx's cackling could be heard a mile away. No, really. It could've. It was that loud.
"FAG!" yelled Demyx, closing the door on Axel's pinky.
"Oh &#!" yelled Axel, hopping up and down. "&$ YOU SAÏX!"
He could mentally picture Saïx going into Xemnas's room and showing him the tape he just made. Axel stormed into his room and saw that Saïx had left his cloak on the bed, with a little note that read:
AOL Messenger Guy (a.k.a. Me),
You've got blackmail!
Congratulations!
Love your dear elfy friend,
Saïx
P.S. You suck.
Axel immediately set the note on fire and put his cloak on. Why oh why did Xemnas have to make him room with the crazy blue-haired elf man who sits and drools while gaping at the humungous moon? Anybody else would've been better to room with, except for Larxene because she would try to attempt to take his clothes off. But luckily she was dead and he didn't have to worry about it.
The next thing on his agenda was to go and apologize to Demyx for that thing Saïx just recently made him do. He felt sorry for the little mullet haired man. If Axel were in his position, he would've thrown up. So he went across the hall and knocked once again on Demyx's door. He heard the pitter patter of footsteps and the door opened, with the melodious nocturne at its front. But just as soon as he was about to apologize, the door closed with a loud slam. If Axel could burn anything right now, it would be Saïx or Xemnas (if he wouldn't get tortured to death if he did).
"Demyx!" he yelled. "I want to say sorry!"
"Go away, you big meanie!" came a muffled reply.
"I just want to apologize!"
The door clicked open and Demyx stood there with his usual dopey smile on.
"You're forgiven," he said happily. "Wanna play Twister?"
"Uh, no. I really have other plans."
"Awwwww. But it would be fun!"
He did one of his signature retard jumps to accompany what he said.
"No, really," said Axel. "I've got some errands I have to run. But I'll see you later, don't worry."
"Okay!"
Demyx skipped happily back into his room and closed the door. Great. Now he had to come back and play Twister with mullet man because he didn't want to hurt the poor man's feelings. He opened up a dark portal and stepped into it, heading towards the library in the old mansion in Twilight Town.
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(Roxas's PoV)
"So, Axel was my friend?" asked Roxas, looking for an answer from the light blonde haired girl. She was quiet for a moment before she said her answer, as always.
"Yes," she answered shyly. "You and he were very close to each other. When you left him, he became mean and aggressive, with a developing anger problem. You see, Roxas- you were his life. He lived only because of you, and now he's miserable because you aren't there to have fun with him and tell him to never give up the fight for life. You are special Roxas. You can bring joy into people's lives without even trying, and now Axel misses you because you were his only best friend. He wants you back."
"Wow," said the Dark Keyblade Master. "I didn't know I was that important. Why did I leave? Was he mad at me or something?"
Naminé smiled at him.
"You wanted to find your other half…Sora," she said. "You knew that you wanted to meet the very person that created you. So you left Organization XIII, betraying every one of them all for your needs. Now they're out to find you, which is why you must learn to master the Keyblade once more."
"Was I a Keyblade Master?"
"Yes. You were- and are- the wielder of Keyblade Dark. There are three versions of Keyblade Masters- light, twilight, and dark. Sora is the Light Keyblade Master, King Mickey is the Twilight Master and you are the Dark Master. You have the power of wielding two Keyblades whenever you want, without having to use MP or go into Drive mode. But be aware that your darkness can be your demise. If you use it too much, your existence might be crushed. Always follow your light."
Dark fog started gathering around her, noting that a portal was forming.
"Wait Naminé!" yelled Roxas, somehow unable to move. "I have one more question!"
"Just trust your instincts, Roxas," said Naminé, disappearing behind the circular shape of the portal.
"WAIT!"
Roxas's eyes opened, glancing around at his room. It was about 5 in the morning, and everything was lit by a blue, hazy glow. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and then laid back down and stared up at the ceiling.
"Dark Keyblade Master, huh?" he said to himself. "I kinda like the sound of that. I think I'll go check out that old mansion today."
He let his head sink into the pillow of his bed, and he fell asleep again, a small smile forming on his face right at the moment his eyes closed. He hadn't even noticed the small blonde haired girl watching him, smiling her usual shy smile as the dawn light reflected off of her…
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(Axel's PoV)
It was always so beautiful in Twilight Town. Everything was always warm and there was never a cloud in the sky. Axel laws leaning against the wall of the train station with his hood down, enjoying a late afternoon snack of sea salt ice cream. He soaked in the sun that was gazing down upon the small town, illuminating it with its rich glow. There was no sun like this in Deep Dive. Real or not, Axel loved it. Too bad this was the fake Twilight Town.
He finished off the last of his ice cream and went over and scared some little kids (just because that's the kind of person he is) and teleported to the old mansion. He knew that Naminé and DiZ were always hanging out there, regardless if you could see them or not. He could see the humungous mansion from outside the gate, focusing his eyes a bit more to see the cracked pillars and broken windows. Roxas would be here any minute now, so he had best get ready for it. Word had been going around that his friend knew the truth now about their friendship, and he wanted to go see if he could try and Roxas back into the Organization. After all, it was his "mission", as Xemnas called it. Axel wanted to think of it more as a reunion, really.
"Here goes nothing. Really."
He pushed open the huge black gate that creaked as it swayed inward further. He walked past the crumbled stone and brick and opened the old oak doors, revealing a vast hallway ahead of him. If this mansion was newer, he might've considered living there. But to tell the truth, he didn't really want to make friends with dust and cobwebs. He climbed up the rickety wooden stairs that were slightly rotting and turned left into the library. Thankfully nobody was here. He teleported once more into the secret part of the library, the computerized, high-tech room. He passed through the mechanical door because it wouldn't read his weight because he didn't exist. Finally he was in the hallway before the main computer room, where Roxas would be in about ten minutes. All he would have to do is wait….
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(Roxas's PoV)
Roxas shuffled inside the hidden room, feeling his adrenaline kick in because he didn't know what was going on. Who would've thought that there would be a secret passageway underneath that library? He pushed the button to open the mechanical door that led to a room he didn't know. He ran inside and heard the mechanical door lock behind him. He suddenly got scared. Dusks appeared all over the place, and he felt the warm buzz of the Keyblade materializing in his hand. He guessed that this would never end.
After defeating four dusks and two assassins, Roxas heard an all-too-familiar voice behind him.
"Hello there Roxas," said the sly, sarcastic voice of Axel. "That's some hardcore fighting you're doing there."
"Axel…," Roxas started.
"Have you remembered when we were friends now?" he continued on. "Do you remember how you betrayed me?"
"Axel."
"Well I'm SO FLATTERED!" (A/N: Okay, so I don't have the actual words they say. Cut me some slack here.)
A ring of fire blazed around him and his long-time-no-see friend.
"You traitor!" yelled Axel angrily.
Axel bent his head down at a ninety degree angle and spread his toothpicks of arms out in a locked position. Wisps of darkness appeared on them and soon two chakrams appeared in their place, looking almost deadly as Roxas gaped at their six diamond shaped points. However, summoning up almost all of his strength, Roxas materialized two Keyblades at once, whipping them out as if to brag to Axel about how strong he really was. They both felt familiar as he gripped them in his hands. He even remembered their names- Oblivion and Oathkeeper.
"Two!" yelled Axel angrily.
The ground of the room lit on fire, burning the rubber off of Roxas's shoes. He quickly leapt into the air and attacked Axel with furious slashes, controlling the Keyblades almost simultaneously, but off by at least half a second. It created a smoother and faster attack, making sure he couldn't let Axel win this fight. But a part of him didn't want to hurt him, either.
Axel attacked back just as fiercely, sometimes catching him unaware and leaping out of the ring of fire and leaping back onto him, creating an explosion of flame around Roxas. Axel could handle his two chakrams very well, and they sliced through the air with no difficulty and much speed. However, the fight didn't last long and the flame around them both diminished as Axel fell over in a panting heap.
"I see you still have got it," said Axel, chuckling. He was barely holding onto his chakrams now. They were both hanging off of the tips of his frail, skinny fingers.
"Axel!" yelled Roxas. He remembered every moment he ever had with Axel now, and he was feeling pity for his friend.
"Don't worry about me," he said with a tired sigh. "I'm sure your other friends wouldn't like it if they saw you with me. So I guess I'll see you in the afterlife. That is, if there is an afterlife for me. Take care, Roxas."
The dark mist formed around him as a teleportation hole started to form. Roxas ran over to it, wanting his friend to stay, but the red haired enigma was gone before he could shout his name. Roxas felt like crying. All this time he hadn't known about their friendship, until just now when he couldn't talk to him any longer. He stood there for a few moments and contemplated this, holding back tears that were starting to form. Knowing that he was the only thing Axel had made him angry and sad at the same time. He wished he hadn't gone and deserted him and totally destroyed him because of it. He hung his head low and watched the last of the mist vaporize into thin air.
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(Axel's PoV)
Axel nearly fell over onto the cold silk sheets of Saïx's bed, wanting to kill himself right then and there for just leaving Roxas there and not spending any time with him. He took the feather pillow and shoved his head under it, tired of seeing the moon shine in with all of its brightness. He wanted to go back and give Roxas a hug or something, but he knew that would only hurt his reputation. No sooner than he had started thinking about ways he could forgive himself for leaving Roxas, he felt the bed shift under somebody's (or nobody's, technically) weight. He pulled his head out from under the black pillow and saw Saïx staring at him with those freaky orange eyes of his. And just a second ago the blue haired elf wasn't in there.
"Do you always have to ruin my life?" asked Axel, sitting up.
"Why, of course I do," answered Saïx matter-of-factly. "It's my duty to make sure nobody's happy around here, especially you and Demyx."
"Oh. I so want your job."
"Nah. It's not that great."
There was a moment of silence.
"You know, Xemnas really liked that prank I pulled on you," interrupted Saïx. "In fact, everybody else did too. If Marluxia were here, he would totally be making fun of you right now."
"You mean you told everyone about it?" asked Axel, trying not to get too angry.
"No, I didn't tell them. I videotaped it and showed everyone. There's a big difference you know."
Axel plopped back down and buried his head under the pillow once more. He couldn't believe this guy. Well, now that he thought about it, he could. What else would an evil villain do in his spare time, right? He needed sleep.
"So I'm judging that your day wasn't very good," said Saïx, gently placing a hand on Axel's back (much to the redhead's despise).
"Yes, my day sucked," came a muffled reply from Axel who was nearly asleep now. "Why should you care?"
"Just making sure you're miserable," answered Saïx. "Now if you don't mind, I've got to go do business with Xemnas. Can you handle being on your own for a while?"
Axel shuddered as he thought of what Saïx meant by "business".
"Yes, I can handle it," he answered. "And just to let you know, I'm not a baby, so don't treat me like one."
"You're in a lower rank than me, so I consider you a baby. And I'm glad to hear that you can manage yourself. So, toodles!"
He felt Saïx's hand leave his back and heard the familiar sound of a portal being opened. All he needed to do now was sleep. But he couldn't, of course, because he promised Demyx to a game of Twister. He would feel really bad if he broke his promise. So as fast as he could (which wasn't fast at all), he climbed out of bed and teleported to Demyx's room, where mullet man was waiting with much anticipation. Whoever invented Twister was going straight to hell….
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Man, I am slow at updating. Can you believe it's been a month? I gotta get my act together.
So please review. Say anything you want, whether it's good or bad.
Peace out!
-WoDF