This is my last weekend before spring break. OH YES. I am so happy… I need a break. And I have to start registration soon for next semester soon, too. This semester is going so fast, thank goodness. But anyway. Thanks for all the wonderful feedback from last chapter! We've just moving right along on this… hope you guys like this chapter. Nothing too special, but eh. Enjoy anyway. :)

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Chapter 7- Treason

If it weren't for the importance of the situation at hand, Axel was sure that he would have been giggling like a child that had just successfully swiped money from his mother's purse. In fact, he was prepared to do just that as soon as he deposited his newfound treasure in a safe place. And what may this treasure be? Zexion's data, of course. Finally, after dodging Marluxia and Larxene while trying to pin point Sora's exact location, the pyro was able to obtain the information on the boy's home.

At the time, Axel had been almost certain that he was going to be caught. The three must have lost sense of time, for it had been in the middle of the afternoon the day after his less-than-pleasant discussion with Naminé that the so-called heroes huddled in a corner and drifted off to sleep. What made the pyro nervous, however, was that one of them stayed up to keep watch; of the few times that he had checked up on them since they arrived in the castle, that had never happened. But Zexion was waiting for that data and the redhead had no idea when he expected it, so he had decided to take a risk and go for it. If he was caught, not only would that lead to yet another battle, but would alert Marluxia to what he had been up to and… well, he would think about it if it came to that.

Fortunately, it was the talking dog that stayed awake, though Axel wasn't sure if there was much of a difference between that and being asleep. With a simple diversion of a decoy portal on the opposite side of the room, the pyro was able to search the boy's memories, pick and choose what he wanted, and then get out of there before the dog ever became suspicious of what was really occurring. The whole thing seemed entirely too simple, but he wasn't going to complain.

The card, decorated with a tiny image of a sandy island within a blue border, twirled between his fingers before he tucked it into the deep pocket of his coat. The pyro gave it a gentle, securing pat, and he mentally checked off one thing on his to-do list. Next, he just had to find time to visit the Schemer.

Axel shrugged his shoulders; he'd get to that later. He was expected elsewhere at the moment.

IOIOIOI

Vexen felt like driving his head deep into the wall until he could feel the breeze outside. The pain of that would be miniscule to what he was feeling now. Anything would feel miniscule compared to watching his beloved replica be stomped into the ground. It was incomprehensible that the replica should fail after all the work he put into creating it. Even after having its mind wiped clean and replaced with fake memories, it still didn't have the power or will to bring Sora down. Even more embarrassing was that it was nowhere to be found. Afraid, it had run for its life and was now wandering somewhere in the castle like a lost child. How was he supposed to explain such failure? He could only imagine what the neophytes would have to say about it… not that he cared what they thought.

Needless to say, he was not disappointed. As soon as Vexen returned to the meeting room, Larxene and Axel were ready for him. The two turned from a discussion they were in the middle of to look at him. The Nymph grinned, earning herself a deep scowl from the elder member. Placing her fists on her hips, the woman sauntered forward. The giggle that made the Chilly Academic want to twitch bounced off the walls to resonate in his ears, "I don't understand, Vexen. I thought Riku was supposed to attack Sora, wasn't he?" She said, turning her palms upwards and shrugging, "Where'd he go? What's he doing?"

If only he could wring her skinny neck… that would make things so much quieter. Why did they keep her around anyway? She was only Number Twelve!

Axel decided to throw his two cents in with a snide remark to tack onto Larxene's, "Don't worry, he's hiding on purpose to lure Sora in further. Just trust me on that."

The two shared a bitter snicker that made Vexen want to Dusk them both.

"Oh, really?" Larxene gasped, "So that's it! I'm so sorry, Vexen, I had no idea!"

"Shut up!" Vexen shouted, balling his fists as he did so. It was so tempting to summon his power and encase her in a block of ice before she had a chance to move, but he valued his self control more than some others. However, it seemed this response was what the Nymph was hoping for. Haughtily, she crossed her arms and turned up her nose.

"The usual response. You know, people without hearts really are worthless."

The Chilly Academic chose to point out her hypocrisy by stating, "Don't forget: you don't have a heart, either, unless your shallow mind somehow managed to find a way to create one."

It was at this point that it was very tempting for Axel to simply stop listening. Arguments between Larxene and Vexen were commonplace, occurring at least five times a day, and all of them ended the same way: the Nymph smug and the Academic bitter. However, the pyro's desire was extinguished as soon as the flower boy decided to make his grand entrance, complete with floating pink petals. Axel rolled his eyes heavenwards and prepared himself for a long speech that involved plans to take over the Organization and how Vexen couldn't do anything right. Which was true, to be honest.

"Your plan has completely failed, Vexen," Marluxia said as though he was surprised by it. The pyro had to admit, the guy was a great actor when he had to be. If he didn't know better, he would have said the Assassin was actually disappointed, "I am beginning to wonder whether you are more a liability than an asset."

Insert Vexen's outburst of how no one gives him the respect he deserves, he's more important than everyone here with his fancy ranking, blah, blah, blah. Axel rolled his eyes; he had heard this so many times before. It was beginning to get boring.

While the sudden appearance of Marluxia's scythe in the old bat's face should have been what made the redhead jump, it was the mentioning of Naminé's name that brought Axel's attention to the surface. Briefly, his gaze flickered to the girl who sat at her chair in the corner with her eyes cast downwards, and then back to the situation at hand. To oppose him would be to go against the Organization, Marluxia was saying. What an interesting comment the Assassin chose to make, the pyro noted with a small smile. He decided to throw in his own remark.

"All opposition is eliminated. That's how it goes."

Axel always loved putting second meanings into his words. It gave false security to the other person, especially in this case. It was so tempting to inform Marluxia of his blunder and kill him right there, but that would ruin the satisfaction. Let him surge forward with his misplaced confidence, only to be tripped up by one of his own 'allies'. Then the pyro could sit back and say with all the arrogance in the world, 'I told you so'. For the time being, Axel placed all of his attention on the conversation just as Marluxia, with his scythe extended towards the Chilly Academic, said, "Vexen, you cannot defeat Sora. You are not capable."

Vexen sneered after a second's contemplation, "You know so little, Number Eleven. You only see what's on the outside. You can't comprehend my power."

Well, at least he knew he was an old geezer, Axel thought with a smirk. Marluxia's scythe disappeared with a shower of petals.

"Oh? Then prove it," The Assassin suggested, knowing Vexen's cowardice would prevent him from accepting the challenge.

Sure enough, the Chilly Academic choked, "What?" Larxene stifled a chuckle behind her hand, but it went unnoticed by the others.

"I don't want to doubt a fellow member's power," Marluxia continued, turning away from the elder member. Uneasiness flashed across Vexen's face; he knew he was only being tempted, to see if he would fail. However, after the failure of his replica, he felt obligated to show his worth. No matter how much he talked down to the younger members, he still thought it his duty to show them their place by being better. Number Eleven would learn not to belittle him so.

As a portal appeared around him, he spat, "You haven't got the heart," And he was gone.

There was a moment of silence in which the three remaining members waited for Vexen's hasty return and the excuse that would surely follow. When nothing seemed to be coming, Axel decided to break the silence as he strode towards Marluxia, "Taking off like that, I'd bet you a hundred munny he's going straight to take out Sora."

"Like he could," Larxene snorted. Marluxia ignored her, too occupied with his next source of entertainment: the girl huddled in the corner. His fixation on her did not go unnoticed. Oblivious to Larxene's eyes on him, Axel glanced anxiously between Naminé and the Assassin.

"I'm sure nobody looks forward to the outcome," Marluxia noted as he stopped before the girl. She failed to acknowledge him, though she was painfully aware of his proximity as he bent down to her level. The Nymph frowned when the redhead clenched his fists, narrowing his eyes at the exchange. The Assassin put his hand on the back of the chair, "Well, what now? At this rate, your hero won't be around much longer. Vexen will show him no mercy like we have. But didn't he make a promise to you? Didn't he, Naminé?"

The girl was trembling, her fingers pressed so firmly against the seat of her chair that they were as white as her dress. She didn't want to remember the false memories she was forced to implant in his mind, that he promised her something only true friends can promise each other. That he promised Kairi, not her, and that was that he would protect her forever. Just like what she forced the Riku replica to believe.

Through tight lips, Naminé uttered, "Yes."

Satisfied, Marluxia stood and returned to the other two.

"I suppose now we just wait for him to return," He said with a shrug, "I was hoping for more of a struggle, to be honest. He is quick to give in to pressure."

"What more can you expect from Vexen?" Larxene replied, "I just hope he doesn't do something stupid out of desperation when he gets his ass kicked. Hey, Axel!"

The aforementioned pyro snapped to attention, forcing his wide eyes on the smirking Nymph. Embarrassed that he had been caught distracted, he scowled and muttered, "What?"

"How much you want to bet he comes back crying?"

The scowl disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, "I've already bet one hundred to Marluxia. Why not a hundred again?"

"You're on."

"Larxene," Marluxia interjected, "When you are done betting your munny away, would you mind coming with me for a moment? I'd like to discuss something with you."

Insulted, the woman huffed and shifted her weight to one leg, "What's that supposed to mean? You think I'm gonna lose?"

"Of course not. I simply would like to have a word with you," He answered, his tone casual, "About what we talked about the other day."

Larxene's mouth opened to claim she had no idea what he was talking about, but a quick, meaningful glance from the Assassin was enough to get her to remember. Blinking slowly, she snapped her mouth shut and nodded, "Oh. Sure."

Axel snickered and muttered suggestively, "Hmm, I wonder what this is about?" Larxene bristled, her cheeks flushing red from anger, but Marluxia had a different response for him.

"We are plotting your destruction, Axel. I assumed that would be obvious."

The grin on the pyro's face faltered. The Assassin's smile was teasing, but the tone of his voice was too serious. A shock of unease shot its way down into his stomach, gripping and twisting, and intensified with Larxene's girlish laugh. Axel eyed both of them carefully as they formed two portals beside each other and disappeared. He watched the area, waiting for their return, but it seemed he was alone for the time being. So, besides being paranoid, what was he supposed to do now? Glancing over the orb, he found it inactive except for a few sporadic flashes of color. Well, this was fun.

He knew what he wanted to do, and that was talk to Naminé who sat so quietly in the corner. But the question was, would she want to talk to him? Since she had been brought to this room- had she ever left since the day before? - she hadn't spoken a single word or spared anyone a single glance. Maybe he was giving himself too much credit, but he worried it was because of what he said to her. Really, if they kept it a secret, was it so wrong? As long as no one found out, they could do whatever they wanted. She did have a point, bringing up how age shouldn't matter for Nobodies. Maybe she was right… maybe a Nobody could learn to be a Somebody.

Peridot eyes flickered to the girl in the corner. What could happen?

"Hey, Naminé?" His voice was too soft. Since when did he sound like that? The girl flinched, but didn't look at him. Axel shifted anxiously before taking careful steps towards her, "You okay, Naminé?" He knelt before her, crouching down to balance on the balls of his feet. Still, her eyes failed to meet his. The pyro pursed his lips, "Alright then, don't talk. I don't want to hear what you have to say anyway," Standing, he summoned a portal a few feet away and started towards it.

"Wait, Axel."

With his back still turned, he grinned, then quickly wiped it away to glance casually over his shoulder. He adopted a lazy pose as he faced her, shifting his weight to one side and crossing his arms, "Yea?" He muttered with pseudo-boredom. She still wasn't looking at him, but at least now she was talking.

"Am I really one of the bad guys?" She asked meekly in a voice laced with unshed tears. Axel frowned; this wasn't what he was anticipating on hearing. He returned to his original position in front of her.

"What makes you ask that?"

"Because I feel terrible," She answered, "I… I don't want to hurt Sora."

Axel hummed, "Technically, you aren't hurting him at all. More like indirect hurting," Was that supposed to make her feel better? He was never good at the whole comfort thing anyway. Apparently, it wasn't the best thing to say; Naminé inhaled sharply and held it in. The pyro could see the muscles in her face struggling to hold back the tears. Oops. With only a second's hesitation, he reached up to wrap his fingers loosely around her arm, "Hey, don't start crying on me now, okay? I'm not exactly a 'lean your head on my shoulder' type of person. I'm more of a 'let me make you feel worse and then try to make you feel better by making stupid jokes' kind of person."

A faint smile from her, and Axel grinned, "There you go. That's how Naminé's supposed to look. If you don't keep that smile, I'm going to get a couple staples and force you to. That wouldn't be too pretty, would it?" Hell, nothing could make her not pretty, he thought to himself. Still, he earned himself another weak smile; he fought the sudden urge to brush her cheek again, "So, you going to tell me what the matter is?"

Shyly, Naminé tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, "I didn't like having to change Riku's memories."

"That wasn't the real Riku, you know."

"That's not the point," She said briskly, "He's still alive. He still has his own thoughts and feelings. Then I had to make him believe he was someone he wasn't so he could fight with Sora. It's not fair to either of them, because now Sora thinks his best friend hates him. And you let it happen."

Axel wondered if maybe she was expecting him to apologize, judging by the accusative glare she was giving him. With a roll of his eyes, he let himself fall onto his bum, then crossed his arms, "Well, what am I supposed to do about it? Do you think it would go over well if I suddenly developed a soft spot for replicas that can't do their job?"

"No, but-"

"That would be like you asking to join the Organization so you could kill off Sora," He tapped the side of his head, "Gotta think, Naminé."

"So you mean you didn't really want to?"

"Uh, well…" Axel trailed off, grabbing his toes for balance as he rocked backwards, "It's not like it was some sort of secret desire. I just- hey, why am I even bothering to explain this to you? It doesn't matter," He dismissed it with a shrug. Naminé's fingers tightened on the hem of her dress.

"It matters to me!" She huffed, "It confuses me."

The pyro shot her a questioning glance, "What's confusing?"

Naminé shifted awkwardly in her seat, "You are. You're like two different people sometimes and I don't know which one is the real one."

The girl jumped when Axel's hand was suddenly on the top of her head, forcing her to lean over so she would be closer. When her cerulean eyes briefly met with Axel's own serpentine, peridot orbs, the girl felt a hot blush creep up on her cheeks, but the lopsided smirk from him told her that his thoughts were going in a completely different direction than her own. Even so, she found that her mouth and throat had gone dry and it hurt just to swallow. With such proximity, his unique scent of ash and cinnamon rolled off him and tickled her nose. She wanted to pull away, but found that something other than his hand was keeping her from doing so. Naminé shivered when his breath brushed her skin as he whispered, "That is the real Axel. Axel is everything in one. Axel can be whoever he wants to be," He paused for a moment, his eyes drifting over her face, only to reclaim hers soon after, "And Axel can-"

"I hope we're not interrupting anything."

Axel snapped to attention, rising to his feet effortlessly and leaving Naminé with an expression of apprehension and expectancy. The pyro fixated his glare on the Graceful Assassin standing smugly in the center of the room with his arms crossed and brow quirked. Larxene stood just behind him, peering around his shoulder and grinning like a child who had just tattled on another. Attempting to appear nonchalant, the pyro brushed away an imaginary speck of dust from his coat.

"Not really," He answered, "The witch was just being a little too vocal, is all."

"Funny," Larxene snickered, "I would almost say that-"

Axel cut her off with a stern stare, "Like I said, she was too vocal. I was putting her back in her place."

The Nymph was not afraid to let show her doubt on her face, but Marluxia simply nodded, "Don't worry, Axel. We were only joking."

"Who said I was worried?"

"Your 'oh-shit-they-caught-me' reaction when we came back," Larxene supplied sarcastically. She moved to step around the Assassin, but he outstretched his arm; stopping her. Questioningly, she looked up at him and he shook his head.

"Drop it, Larxene."

"Yea, Larxene, drop it," Axel jibed, perching the back of his hands on his hips with a snarky grin. He snickered when she growled under her breath, biting her bottom lip to keep an undoubtedly malicious comment from escaping. Marluxia rolled his eyes at the exchange, choosing to ignore them as he stood before the hazy orb in the center of the room.

"Any developments while we were gone?" He asked, directing the question at Axel. The pyro hesitated, having been distracted enough to not even realize if something had come up in the orb. Finding amusement in his uncertainty, Larxene cast him a haughty smile, to which he returned with a scowl.

Shrugging, he said, "Nope, nothing."

"You mean Vexen didn't go to Sora?" Marluxia asked over his shoulder, "You might just owe me one hundred munny."

"I doubt that," Axel snapped back.

Just then, the haze in the orb began to shift, illuminating softly, before a faint image of two battling figures appeared in the center. Marluxia took a step forward in interest, and the other two quickly placed their attention on the small figure of Vexen jumping about, always trailed by the even smaller figure of Sora. Spikes of ice rose up from the floor like stalagmites, threatening to impale the young Keyblade wielder, but either he was too fast or Vexen was too slow. After a few moments of viewing with little progress made, Larxene became impatient and shifted her weight to the side, sighing in exasperation. Marluxia placed a hand on the surface of the orb.

"Should I be surprised that this battle appears to be a stalemate?" He asked no one in particular.

Axel nodded, "Yea, you should. I'm surprised that he hasn't speared his ass on his own ice yet."

"For once, I agree with you," Larxene said, "I mean, the fool is so old he'd probably-"

Marluxia suddenly thrust his hand out towards them, quickly throwing the room in silence. In disbelief, he whispered, "He couldn't have…"

Both the woman and redhead exchanged glances before coming to the Assassin's side. In the orb, the battle had ceased and Vexen's voice was faint even in the quiet room. Between his fingers he held a card, shaped identical to all the others but with a picture wholly unfamiliar. With a flick that seemed too fast for someone like him, the card was in Sora's hands and the Chilly Academic had disappeared in a swirling, black mass. The light of the orb flickered and the image disappeared in the haze.

Gradually, time started again and the three realized what they had just witnessed. For once, Larxene was stunned into silence. Her lips were parted, eyes wide, but she could make no sound. Axel felt unease stir in his stomach, worried what would happen if Sora were to go to that hidden memory, discover its true meaning. What would happen to Roxas…?

"If something happens to Sora in that place, the Organization's plans may be at risk," He said, rejecting that train of thought. When no response followed his statement, he turned to the Assassin, "Marluxia."

"Do you know what we should do?" The scythe wielder's tone told the pyro that he already had an idea of exactly what was going to happen. Axel decided to humor him.

"No idea," He shrugged as he turned away. His eyes found Naminé, watching them with wide eyes from her corner, but he tried to ignore her, "I'd like you to tell us."

"What Vexen did is direct treason against the Organization," He said, "Rid us of our traitor."

Naminé visibly sucked in a deep breath and her gaze fixated on the redhead, waiting for his response. Axel found himself looking away from her as he said both to Marluxia and the girl, "Can't argue with that."

He shut his eyes against the devastated stare of the girl and disappeared into his portal. Why couldn't he look at her? Why should he feel ashamed that she was unhappy with his decision? No matter the victim or who it was that commanded it, Axel would never allow a traitor to the Organization stay alive, but now he almost felt like he was doing the wrong thing. It was all probably because of what she said to him, about being upset that he so easily gave in to Marluxia's demands; that he allowed the replica to have his memories forcibly rearranged. But this he had to do. Not only did he have to protect the Organization and his only friend within it, but he had to further reassure the Graceful Assassin that he was on his side. A lie straight from his ass, but necessary all the same. After their discussion the other day about his willingness to serve their cause, he couldn't go back on it now.

What worried him, though, was that he was finding it harder and harder to remember that this was his main goal. Marluxia had to be stopped and only with that would Naminé be free. She wasn't his fixation… she couldn't be, not if he wanted to come out alive. It was unfortunate that he found out about her attraction to him already. It was distracting him, even when she wasn't around. He had to keep himself focused until it was safe to let his guard drop. Then he could truly examine what had been sending his mind into turmoil and maybe decide on something in favor of both of their desires.

Axel emerged from his portal and dry grass crunched under his boots. Hopefully, that ball of flames hurtling towards Vexen wouldn't catch anything more than him on fire. A shame, he was actually starting to like the old bat.

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Hum. It's an okay chapter, I guess. Nothing too exciting, right? This was a lot longer, but then I chopped it up and gave birth to two more chapters. Like the Hydra. You know, chop one head off, get two more… Hercules… yea, no? Okay.

GET UP ON THE HYDRA'S BACK, BITCHES!

I need to play KH2 again… yea. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this one. This is going so fast. Okay, reviews are welcome and encouraged; flames will be used for Axel's enjoyment. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next Sunday!

Until Next Time,

Manwathiel