Chapter six marks half way point. Already. Geez.

Another favorite of mine. Though I am kinda nervous about it… something I did seemed like a good idea at the time, now I'm not too sure. But I don't wanna exert the effort to change something that works every other way. Oh well. We'll see how it's taken, yea? Enjoy!

XXXXX

Chapter 6- Hope

"If my mind revolved around everything pink and flowery," Axel murmured to himself, "Where would I hide something that I wanted to keep away from me? Hmph. Beats me."

The pyro knocked his foot against the wall; the sole of his boot left behind a small scuff on the pearly white marble. With a mischievous grin, Axel decided to continue this defacement by trailing a line of black for a good few feet or so, then attempting a 'VIII' at the end. After all, it wasn't his fault that he was wandering the castle in the middle of the night; blame Zexion for waking him up and giving him so much to think about that he couldn't quiet his mind for more than a minute. If he was going to be kept from sleeping, then he would have to entertain himself. What better way was there than to leave little surprises for them to clean up in the morning? Of course, he would probably be the one on his hands and knees with a dirty sponge and a bucket of soapy, brown water…

Satisfied for the moment, the pyro slumped against the wall and began an erratic drumming with his fingers. What else could he do when he had absolutely no idea where to find the data that the idiot Schemer had asked for? It made him realize that maybe he didn't have as much power in Castle Oblivion as he thought he did. The notion frustrated him to no end; despite having ranks, they were very rarely utilized back at the Castle That Never Was. Now, he couldn't even obtain a small piece of data that would have been readily available were it not for Marluxia's obsession with upholding the new ranking. Out of frustration, Axel let a growl slip between his teeth. This was not what he signed up for.

Pushing away from the wall, the pyro continued wandering down the hall that only seemed to lead to a bright light. If he had just thought to make a copy of the data before he passed it off to Vexen, this wouldn't have been necessary. Perhaps if he found Sora again, swiped the data without him noticing, and made a quick getaway…

The idea was crazy, but it would be better than trying to talk it out of Marluxia, only to find out he didn't even have any. A corridor of darkness opened before the pyro and he entered and exited the world that was Betwixt and Between to emerge in the room in which he, Marluxia, and Larxene often congregated. It was a miracle that no one was there; Axel took the opportunity that luck had granted him and started towards the translucent orb in the center of the room. He placed his hand upon it and, after a few moments, a milky haze began to form within. Colors bled into the orb, mixing and swirling and taking the shape of three figures huddled against a corner. When the haze cleared, Axel smiled.

Sleeping. How easy was this?

As the pyro circled around the orb to get a better vantage point and, hopefully, a better idea of the exact location of Sora and his friends, fate suddenly decided that it was too easy, for a portal that the redhead did not summon interrupted the quiet of the meeting room. Axel cursed under his breath as he froze in place. Who in the hell was awake at this hour?

"What are you doing, Axel?" The visitor questioned with a wary calm. The pyro forced his eyes away from the orb to look at the one that he didn't even need to see to recognize. His voice alone was enough to send a chill up Axel's spine. Still, he masked the disgust with a grin as he turned to face the Graceful Assassin.

"Oh, you know," The redhead idly tapped two fingers against the glass, "Snooping around. Causing trouble," Which, technically, wasn't a lie. Fortunately, he did those things often enough to not be considered suspicious because of it. With one last glance at the sleeping figures in the orb, Axel removed his hand from the cool surface and allowed the image to disappear. Having been discovered, he knew he would not have the opportunity to make his move now. Marluxia's careful eyes were still on him, narrowed ever so slightly, and the pyro couldn't help but turn up his chin in defense. He was telling the truth for once. Why did he doubt him? It didn't occur to Axel that doubt might be preferable in this particular instance.

Marluxia nodded once then and murmured a quiet, "I see."

Was that it? The pyro was almost hesitant to leave, too anxious now that the Assassin had responded in a manner that was not at all characteristic of him. Axel shuffled his feet for a moment, then decided on a hasty exit. Forcing his usual grin, the redhead gave a quick wave and said, "If you don't have anything else to say, I think I'll just-"

"As a matter of fact," Marluxia interrupted. Axel felt his stomach plummet, "I do have something else to say."

"Oh, yea? And what's that?"

"I spoke with Larxene earlier this evening and she informed me that you intend on aiding in our plans to overthrow the Organization."

Despite his best attempts to conceal it, a small smirk curved Axel's lips. It was even more satisfying hearing it from the mastermind himself! If there were any doubts still itching at the back of his mind, they were silenced now. Marluxia could never try to deny it when his plans fell through; both traitors had confirmed it. Now, they could only await the punishment that would soon be dealt upon them. The pyro tilted his head from side to side as he crossed his arms over his chest; out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Assassin tense. Good. He was right to do so.

"I may have said something like that, yea," Axel answered slyly, "But, you know, I haven't heard what's in it for me."

"Your hide being spared, though I don't believe you truly deserve even that."

Axel sucked a breath between his teeth, "That's cold."

The Assassin offered a small shrug, "You asked."

"Glad to know I'm so valuable," The pyro retorted with sarcasm dripping from his voice. He shifted his weight to one side, "So why are you asking? I'm sure Larxene told you everything."

Marluxia nodded as he started towards the orb. Axel's muscles tensed in preparation for anything that the Assassin may attempt, and the familiar licking at his fingers was a reminder of the fire that so readily and eagerly obeyed his will. His caution would go unfounded, but he had learned never to assume. Marluxia gently touched his fingers to the glass surface, but no image was conjured. He said, "Axel, how far would you go to support our cause?"

The redhead quirked one brow, "Why? What's the matter?"

"It's a hypothetical question. Answer it."

"No need to get defensive."

"Answer it, Axel."

The pyro narrowed his serpentine eyes, "I would go as far as I felt necessary."

Hesitation sparked in the pause that followed. Such wariness from the Assassin was rare and it put Axel on edge more so than he already was; for just a moment, the excursion to obtain data had been cast out of the pyro's mind as his focus shifted to the words that slowly slipped past Marluxia's lips, "If it were necessary to eliminate one of our own, would you do it?"

The answer was too easy, "Yes," Axel said, "I would," Because I'm going to kill you, he added on in his mind. Here, alone without any distractions, it would be so easy to do just that and end this before it even had the chance to begin, but a part of Axel wanted it to continue. He wanted to see the arrogance grow, the confidence blossom, and then he wanted to be the one who shattered it all to pieces. As though he were greeting an old friend, the pyro clapped Marluxia a bit too roughly on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it. I got your back. I don't know if you have mine, but you can sure as hell guarantee that I'll be watching out for you."

Marluxia must not have noticed the double meaning of the pyro's words, for the anxiety vanished from his face and a small smile graced his lips. He nodded his thanks, "I am pleased to hear that. It puts me at ease."

"Good," Axel said, "Now, it's my turn to ask a question."

"Certainly."

"Why the hell are you awake?"

The Assassin managed a small smile, "A nightly ritual, I guess you can call it. I use the time to check on Sora's progress."

"You know," Axel frowned, curling his lip a bit, and a spidery hand tangled in the hair at the base of his neck, "That's a little creepy. If he manages to get through this, the poor kid's going to have nightmares about people stalking him."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing he won't get through this. At least, not without losing a part of himself in the process," Marluxia easily replied, as if anticipating such a comment, "Now, why are you awake?"

"I had the strangest dream about a pansy ass with girly flowers following me. Oh wait, that's not a dream, is it?"

Marluxia didn't respond to the comment. Denying Axel the pleasure of seeing him insulted was infinitely more satisfying than getting angry with the pyro. After all, it was just like a child demanding attention from his mother by pulling another child's hair; negative attention, perhaps, but in Axel's mind, negativity and positivity were synonymous with one another. As he had anticipated, the redhead's features had taken just a slight downward turn; frustration that he had not received the expected reaction. Marluxia allowed a satisfied smirk to grace his lips before he turned his attention to the orb beneath his fingertips.

"I take the silence as my cue to leave," The pyro said.

"You would be correct."

The pyro didn't bother with a goodbye as he allowed a portal to engulf him, returning to the hall in which he had originally been. Well, that had certainly been interesting, and not because he learned that Marluxia had a disturbing habit of watching people while they slept. Axel may not have gotten what he was originally after, but perhaps what he did find was infinitely more important than some piece of data that Zexion could easily acquire himself if he would just get off his ass. With a smirk, the redhead admired the black lines marring the smooth surface of the marble walls that he would probably have to clean tomorrow. Aside from that particularly embarrassing possibility, maybe things were about to turn around in his favor.

IOIOIOI

Larxene had to be worse than Marluxia. It seemed impossible that so much cruelty could manage to so tightly embed itself in her nonexistent heart, but somehow it did. The way she could jest about her actions made Naminé sick to her stomach. That she could look at a person in pain and laugh indicated that maybe she really was emotionless, perhaps more so than anyone else. Then again, it was excitement in her eyes as the screams echoed off the walls, so maybe the only emotion she had was hatred. Naminé couldn't understand. And how could the others stand by and let it happen? Vexen… Vexen created this Riku, this replica, and yet he hadn't batted an eye yesterday when it fell to the ground, cornered by the Nymph. And Axel had encouraged the idea, even provided the means to do it by giving Vexen that Destiny Island data! The thought made Naminé tense up, refusing to believe someone who had been so kind to her could be so coldhearted. It made her wonder what he was showing her when they were alone: the real thing or a façade.

But what was worse was that the terror that had radiated from the replica continued to haunt her, even after he had been taken away. She never imagined someone could experience so much fear, but the fake Riku did. So much fear that even she herself was afraid for her own wellbeing. What if something happened to her, too? Would she suffer the same fate?

Of course not, she reminded herself as she brushed a tear from her eye. She was the dealer of such punishment. She was the one who altered his memories so he would think he was someone he could never hope to be, someone he never even wanted to be, but Naminé did it anyway because she was afraid of being the next target. Her cowardice brought him pain and now there was nothing she could do to fix her mistake. He had been given the chance to rest overnight, to allow himself to recover both physically and mentally, and then he came back to her before he left to fight his 'enemy'. He had looked at her and smiled, told her he would protect her, and all she could do was smile back and further the terrible lie.

Was she really one of the bad guys now? Was she just as responsible for this as Marluxia was? No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't imagine how it would be otherwise. She could say no, say she would never help them, but in the end, she knew she would wind up battered and bruised with a pencil in her hand, drawing the next lie. There was no other way. She knew no other way. All she could do was go with the flow and hope that Axel's words to her would come true.

All birds find their wings, right? So what was taking her so long?

With another sniff, Naminé glanced down at her most recent drawing in her lap and smiled. Gentle fingertips brushed over the colors, hoping that maybe one day this wish would come true.

IOIOIOI

Howling laughter echoed around the chamber, bouncing off every surface and increasing to a volume that would have caused anyone to cringe otherwise. Little attention was being paid now to the glowing orb in the center of the room. Reflected inside was a struggle going on between two boys, one brunette and one silver, and the strongest was easily discernable. When the silver haired boy was knocked to the ground for the umpteenth time, the slowly diminishing laughter erupted again in tenfold.

"Look…look!" Larxene gasped, pointing at the orb. Tears of mirth had pooled at the corners of her eyes. A slightly more subdued Axel grinned, arms crossed, as he shook his head in disbelief. Honestly, how much weaker could that replica get? Sora easily tossed him about without even the aide of his two tagalongs, and not once, but twice! Twice the little brat beat him into the dirt. It seemed Vexen's Riku was all talk and no fight, just like the creator. Hmm… what was that old saying?

"Like father, like son," Axel mocked, unleashing another onslaught of hysterics that nearly brought the Savage Nymph to her knees. The redhead couldn't help but beam, causing the two marks under his eyes to crinkle.

"Do you think- oh, that had to hurt- do you think Vexen is watching this?" The woman asked, covering her mouth and nose when she made an unfeminine snort, "He has to be having a fit!"

Axel had forgotten about that part. A hint of a smirk tarnished the otherwise jubilant expression as he realized that not only was Vexen heading for the hills, but Lexaeus and Zexion couldn't be too far behind him. They were all putting everything they had into the Riku replica, but it could hardly hold its own against Sora. So that's where Roxas got all that spirit… hmph. Roxas could smash that Somebody in a heartbeat anyway. Who needs Sora?

"Hey, Axel," A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts; he blinked rapidly before focusing on Larxene's red face as she continued, "I'm going to get Naminé, okay? She should see what her powers have caused!"

Panic swelled up in the pyro's chest at her words. Unbidden memories of the past few days flashed before his eyes, especially of the day previous when he had touched the girl. Axel raised his hand to stop Larxene, but she was already gone by the time her statement came full circle in his mind. This was definitely not good…

What would happen if the Nymph noticed something? He would have to be careful that his eyes didn't linger on her too long or he didn't pay her just a little extra attention. He was confident that he could keep it under his hood, but Naminé was a different story. What if she reacted like yesterday and hugged him? That would call for a lot of questions that he certainly wasn't prepared to answer, and he doubted she was good at thinking on her feet. Maybe it would just be easier to escape now and claim that his…pants caught on fire. Yea, that'd work.

By the time he got around to setting a small flicker of a flame to his fingertips, which felt like hours and really was only two seconds, a swirling portal opened a few feet away. The fire extinguished, and Axel felt a bit more downhearted. So much for that.

However, he wasn't expecting the girl he was so paranoid about to come flying out of the portal to sprawl rather ungracefully on the floor. Her face twisted in pain when her knees impacted on the hard tile and her blonde hair twisted about her head. Axel made a step towards her as, for a brief moment, concern controlled his thoughts, but the moment ended as soon as Larxene stepped into the room with the sketchbook tucked under her arm. All signs of amusement had vanished from her face, only to be replaced with irritation and confusion. The pyro's eyes flitted down to the small body on the floor to find Naminé watching him with apprehension, but she looked away as soon as she found him observing her.

"Why-"

"You'll never guess what I found our little witch doing," Larxene snappishly interrupted. Axel narrowed his eyes at the Nymph, but decided to humor her. He crossed his arms.

"What would that be, Larxene?"

Naminé gave a little squeak from the floor, "Please, don't! I wasn't doing anything…"

"Sound pretty guilty for not having done anything," The woman scoffed, already flipping through the pages in the sketchbook. The girl groaned softly, but no attention was paid to her. Larxene settled on one page in particular, "Forget the fighting brats for now. Take a look at what Naminé drew!"

"No!" The girl cried, pushing herself to wobbly legs. Her eyes fixated on Axel when he simply ignored her and started towards Larxene, "It doesn't mean anything, I promise!" She continued to plead, but it was as though she had never made a noise. A red flush had taken over her cheeks, and her fists tugged restlessly at the hem of her dress. When the redhead peered down at her drawing, Naminé shut her eyes tightly and looked away.

Axel wasn't sure whether to laugh, yell, or be flattered; his face insisted on twitching into all three of those expressions before deciding to simply be blank. Drawn with surprising skill was a sketch of him and Naminé smiling and holding hands, surrounded by floating flowers and hearts. That little detail reminded him of Marluxia, but he was sure she meant well. Careful not to smudge the color, he took the sketchbook from Larxene.

Another whimper from on the floor.

The pyro grinned as he pointed at himself on the paper, "Hey, you gave me green eyes this time."

While the girl stared blankly at his face, Larxene made it obvious that she had been anticipating a reaction much more violent. Tearing the sketchbook out of his hands, the Nymph screeched at an ear piercing level, "That's all you've got to say?! You idiot! Don't you understand what this is? The witch has a crush on you!"

Axel clucked his tongue, "Now, now, don't be jealous, Larxene."

"What?" A screech even louder caused Naminé to cover her ears, but the pyro simply blinked.

"What do you want me to say?" He questioned, placing a hand on his hip, "Bad, Naminé, how dare you draw a picture? I don't care if she likes me. Hell, she could be in love with a drunken walrus and I wouldn't care. What does a crush mean to a Nobody?"

"But… but…!"

"That's enough, Larxene. Forget about it."

It was obvious the woman had plenty more to say on the matter, but a stern glare from the pyro kept her silent. A dangerous hiss seeped between her teeth and she threw the sketchbook on the ground; Naminé flinched when a few pages crinkled. Larxene tore open a portal, "Fine! Who cares about her anyway?"

Once the Savage Nymph disappeared, Axel let out a sigh of relief; her voice was still ringing in his ears and bouncing off the inside of his skull. Whoever decided on 'savage' definitely hit the nail on the head, he thought with a small smile. The sound of footsteps behind him caught his attention; he turned around to see Naminé retreating to a single chair tucked away in a corner. The redhead frowned; this was going to be fun.

Striding toward her, he asked, "What's wrong, Naminé?"

Right, like that wasn't obvious. Axel studied for a brief moment the look of disappointment and embarrassment on her face. While it was unfortunate that Larxene was the one to tell him about her picture, he saw this more as an opportunity than an annoyance. Now he had an excuse to bring up the topic without making himself look like a complete fool, ensuring that he could end whatever he had managed to start. This would free up his mind so that he could put all of his focus into ending Marluxia's schemes while getting the girl out of this mess.

After a pause in which Naminé kept her eyes averted, Axel continued, "I know exactly how you're feeling right now," And wasn't that the truth? He himself had been considering the same possibilities that she had been, but maybe he was the only one who realized it couldn't work. The girl continued to stare at her hands, refusing to acknowledge his words. With a twinge of surprise, the pyro realized he actually felt guilty for doing this; as close to guilt as he could get, that is. Frowning, he decided that maybe to make this go away, he should kill the idea completely, for her sake and for his.

"Don't get your hopes up."

That got her attention. Naminé's head snapped up and a glare found its way onto her face; the thought that it looked entirely out of place on her soft features briefly flitted through Axel's mind. He struggled to keep up the indifferent façade; he never had trouble bluffing his way through something. Why was this different? Maybe it was because he was lying to himself this time. Still, he pressed on.

"You should know," He said, looking away from her dejected appearance. His next words were a reminder to both her and himself, "Nobodies can't be Somebodies."

Wasn't that what had been drilled into all Nobodies at their birth? No emotions, no true existence. That was what they were forced to believe, but sometimes that fate seemed incorrect, misled. Who decided that Nobodies couldn't feel anything anyway? Axel could certainly feel, but of course that was just a reaction to memories. But who decided that was the explanation? Could anyone prove that these fake emotions were really imaginary? It was a cruel fate to be born in a world that revolved around the thoughts and feelings of others when he, a Nobody, couldn't experience any of it. Not truly Dark, not truly Light, but grey.

Just like everything else. Nothing was completely evil, and nothing was completely good. The most malicious of people have a weakness, and every Princess of Heart experiences greed or jealousy at some point. Everything was in between. So would that make Nobodies as much a part of the world as anything else?

Would that make them Somebodies?

"You don't know that," Naminé's shy, hesitant voice mumbled, but Axel tried to block it out. His own thoughts were complete nonsense and it would be idiotic to allow any of her words to encourage him. They were Nobodies and that was all they would be until they faded into nothingness. Despite having been ignored, Naminé continued timidly, "Even if we can't be Somebodies, we can still have feelings. Who cares if the feelings are just echoes of our memory? I don't have my memories, but I can still be happy."

"You're different, Naminé," Axel replied curtly, "Whatever crap we've been spouting to you, you're different. You can feel because you have a heart."

The girl frowned, unconsciously digging little white crescents into her palms with her nails. She heard the shifting of clothing as the redhead started to move away. Hesitantly, she came to her feet, "You have a heart, too."

"We're done talking about this."

Anger gripped at Naminé's stomach as Axel opened a portal for himself. Her brows pinched together and her lips formed a thin line, "Maybe you're done talking, but I'm not!"

Those words were enough to stop the pyro in his tracks. He wanted to be angry that someone would think they had the authority to talk to him like that, but never had he expected it to be coming from her, the weak little girl that spent her time drawing memories that didn't belong to her. Axel was almost intrigued by what she had to say, but her lack of intimidation didn't give him much reason to listen. Raising one brow, he waited for her next comment. Seeing that she had his attention, Naminé suddenly felt much less confident. She shrunk in on herself, but refused to sit back down.

"I know you have a heart, otherwise you wouldn't be so nice to me. You took me out in the rain, you gave me books, you… you helped my bruises," The girl found herself blushing at this, while Axel looked away so as not to show her how much he had been thinking about that, "And you're here right now. You have to care if you're talking to me now."

"See, Naminé, this is where we lose each other," Axel interjected with a wave of his hand, "I'm not denying that Nobodies can feel. I've just accepted the fact that those feelings are fake and there's no use relying on them."

"But-"

"Nope, no buts," He silenced her, "That's the truth, no matter how hard you try to fight it. A Nobody will always be a Nobody."

Naminé hesitated, "But maybe they can learn to be a Somebody."

Axel quirked his head, "So you would lie to yourself so you could feel better about yourself? Sounds a lot like Demyx."

"Well, maybe Demyx is the only one who really understands anything," The girl retorted, crossing her arms as she plopped back down on her chair. The redhead sighed softly as he ran his fingers through his wild hair, yanking sharply at a knot that snagged. He really didn't want to be talking about this, especially since he could find some sense in her argument. That would spark uncertainty within himself, which would eventually lower him to her and the Nocturne's level. While certainly more optimistic, it would only make things harder.

"Look, Naminé," Axel started as he returned to his place beside her, "You're a good kid and all, okay? You're about the closest thing to a friend I have in this entire damn castle, but I'm the wrong person to have a crush on," When the girl flinched, the pyro hesitated for just a second before reminding himself that this was what was best for both of them. As much as he denied that he had an interest in her, he knew that just thinking about the possibilities was dangerous; Marluxia couldn't do anything to him, but Xemnas certainly could. With an attempt at indifference, he continued, "Sorry, but I can't give you what you want right now. After all, I don't have a heart to give, do I?" The grin that accompanied the attempt at a joke went unnoticed and unappreciated. It swiftly melted back into his face.

Naminé gave a short nod, "Fine."

Axel rolled his eyes as the annoying feeling of guilt tugged at his stomach. Without thinking, he reached out to put his hand on her head, only remembering what happened the last time he did that afterwards. So as not to seem suspicious, he let it stay there. He said with a small laugh, "Ask me again when you're a few years older, okay? Your fourteen and my nineteen to twenty two doesn't work too well."

A smile tugged at her lips before abruptly disappearing. Something seemed to have enlightened her, and Axel feared he had given her too much encouragement. Her renewed vigor was made obvious in her tone as she said, "But I thought you said that age didn't matter to Nobodies."

"Oh, well, um…" He trailed off awkwardly; his hand flitted away to rest on the back of his neck. It figured such a trivial thing would come back to haunt him, "That's not the only reason I'm telling you this. Now's just not a good time."

"So… later?"

"That's not what I said."

"What'd you say then?"

"That now's not a good time," Axel repeated slowly.

"So you mean if it was a good time, then you'd say yes?" She questioned, shifting to the edge of her seat. The pyro took a step back.

"That's not what I meant either."

Naminé frowned, shifting back into her chair, "So what do you mean then?"

This was getting ridiculous. He shouldn't have to explain anything to her, and yet here he was, arguing with her. This had to end, and he was going to do it right now, "I mean, I'm not in the mood to discuss this. It's never going to happen. So, unless you don't mind me torching your sketchbooks, I suggest shutting up and letting me leave."

That did the trick. Naminé was seated firmly, her lips shut tight, in a matter of seconds and Axel was free to escape. Although any signs of happiness melted from her expression and was replaced with the earlier embarrassment and disappointment, the pyro was relieved. Finally, he could escape before she figured out anything she shouldn't. He turned to leave.

"Bye, Axel," He heard her say softly as he stepped into a portal. Fleetingly, he glanced over his shoulder, before disappearing into the darkness without a goodbye in return.

That was not good. Not good at all. He had intended to break his ties with her, not strengthen them and give her hope. And worst of all, he felt even more the need to help her escape this place so that maybe when, or if, they ever met again, it would be a 'good time' for whatever he was trying to avoid.

XXXXX

For those of you who don't understand why Axel commented on Naminé giving him green eyes, it's referencing something from "Find Your Wings". In case you don't remember. :)

Now that I look through it again, I found a couple things I really don't like. A goof that was thankfully discovered by my lovely beta sorta messed up the flow of the chapters, I think, and I wish I revealed Nami's crush a different way. I just think the picture is cheesy, I guess… yea. But maybe I'm just being negative.

Hope you guys liked it. Reviews are welcome and encouraged; flames will be used for Axel's enjoyment. See you next Sunday, and thanks for reading!

Until Next Time,
Manwathiel