When I woke up Axl was sitting on the side of the bed with the T.V on. I saw him looking off into the distance with like a sad wistful type face. I looked at my alarm clock, it was exactly 4:59 am. He was probably always used to being up at this time. So was I, I never did miss an episode, but it occurred to me that Axl probably got up much earlier than that to prepare for it and what not. I heard Axl sigh. I got up from the covers and upon hearing the bed move Axl looked over at me. immediately I looked at his face and I saw a bunch of cuts. Some of them still bleeding. Axl smiled wistfully. I got up and turned on the mini light. I remember making a gasp like sound. I touched Axl's face looking at all the cuts. They were deep I was surprised he didn't get drowsy from loosing all that blood. Then I realized. He was already dead. Axl probably saw my distraught face I was making while observing his face. The more I looked the more cuts there were. Axl spoke.
"It's strange it doesn't hurt." He said.
"Why is this...?" I started Axl cut me off.
"These are the exact places I got cut when the guy had just started with the torture. I'm gonna guess that the longer I take, the more of my injuries will come back...although I had this crazy dream last night..." He said trailing off. I raised my eyebrow.
"What was it?" I asked. Axl thought for a second as if trying to recall the whole thing.
"Well this cloaked guy came to me and asked what I thought my life was worth and who I put my trust in the most. When I told him he just laughed and went away. But not before putting a 5 on my forehead." Axl said. I leaned in close and moved Axl's bangs out of his face and looked at his forehead. Sure enough there was a 5 right there. I looked a little horrified. Axl looked a little confused. I spoke putting my thoughts together.
"Axl..., I think that maybe you saw death, and that 5 is your time limit." I said. 5 what was the question. Hours? Minutes? Days? Years? Months? Like what?
"5 days huh?" Axl said leaning back as if there was no worry. I'm guessing we're just gonna go with days.
"Axl. You're really calm about this." I said suddenly a little irritated about how he wasn't showing concern for himself.
"What will happen will happen, if I'm happy or sad." Axl said. I was a bit confused.
"If I get all upset like I did yesterday then I'll just be wasting time. Which I don't have to waste. Feel it?" Axl said calmly.
"Still it just seems so...unfeeling." I said not knowing what else to say.
"Well I am dead." Axl said with a smirk.
"How does it feel to not be where you regularly are?" I asked suddenly seeing the clock saying 5:02 am. Axl sighed.
"Could you believe that I had Stevie Nicks lined up today?" Axl said with a sad face.
"Are you serious?" I said. Axl nodded.
"I was going to confess my undying attraction to her and make her feel uncomfortable" Axl said with another sigh. I felt for him. As I've heard from his random statements about fleetwood mac and about how he's in love with Stevie Nicks and wants to breathe her air. It was probably like a dream come true having her lined up to come on the show. I feel for you Axl.
"That would've been hilarious. She would've rejected you flat-out." I said chuckling at the thought of Axl pouring his heart out to the 64-year-old woman.
"Still would've been awesome...think If I come back to life mysteriously Stevie Nicks will reschedule and then sing for me?" Axl questioned.
"I'm pretty sure that's the least of your worries." I said leaning back a little bit.
"No kidding." Axl responded with a sigh.
"I don't have school until a few hours...what do you want to do?" I asked him. Axl shrugged.
"What do you normally do right now?" Axl asked absent-mindedly.
"I watch your show. Obviously." I said with a small smile. Axl made a small "Oh" sound.
"Are you gonna leave me at home today?" Axl asked suddenly. I thought for a second.
"I always take my plushie with me everywhere." I responded.
"Good. I don't want to be alone." Axl replied leaning back a bit.
"Well why not?"
"Can I tell you something...real talk?" Axl said in a quiet tone.
"Y-Yeah sure" I said slightly uneasy about how the conversation got serious.
"Well...to be honest, I'm scared." Axl said with a small smile.
"Why are you scared?" As if I didn't know why. I'd be peeing my pants right about now if I were him.
"I feel like death is looming over me watching my every move and...these scars that came back, it just means I'm one fifth dead. I was alone when I died, alone with my killer, I just don't want to be alone again." Axl said as if his whole wall of defense had just went down. It was a lot to take in.
There was a certain eeriness in the way that he said this all looking me straight in the face. It was a side of Axl I could never imagined existing. This whole time he'd only gotten mad a little bit and still kept up his cool exterior. Axl was trying to just stay optimistic, but I could tell that the scars coming back probably instilled the fear in him that he felt when he was killed. Axl's gaze at this point wouldn't meet mine, he was looking down. I wanted to respond really good. I wanted to say something that made him feel better but, I could never understand how he felt. There was only one thing I could say to him and as embarrassed as I was to say something like that I knew I had to say it.
"I'll never leave you alone." I said gaining that bit courage I normally keep dormant. Axl looked up at me his face blank, he looked down again and nodded. Then he looked back up and smiled. But got that was such a cliché. I almost couldn't look Axl in eye.
"Thanks dude. That makes me feel a bit better. It's just really, I'm sorry I can't put it into words." Axl said with a sighed.
"Do you need a hug or something?" I asked still having that courage.
"Yes. But this is the perfect time for me to make a creepy fan joke, but I just can't bring myself to do it." Axl said with a bit of a chuckle. I laughed a little bit.
"Well it's not like I'll take your DNA and clone you with my dad's science equipment." I said with a laugh. Axl jokingly backed up a little bit before suddenly.
"Aww come here." Axl then hugged me. I blushed. Then he spoke
"You know Rock, this is sorta strange, I don't really know you good and I already spent the night at your house, slept in your bed, trolled you, ate your food, did some wierd investigation with you, you've met my two best friends and it's only been like a good 16 hours." Axl said.
"Well I just feel like once you've slept in someone's bed for the night, they know you." I said feeling sure of myself. I know I'd never forget someone who slept in my bed.
"Hah, that's cute. Well Rock when you become an adult sleeping in someone's bed for the night means absolutely nothing and 2/3ds of the time, you won't even remember their name." Axl said with a smirk on his face.
"Well...I take it you know?" I said slightly embarrassed. Yep all the courage I had just left. In that moment I pictured Axl with some girl making out with her and then all of a sudden stopping and asking, "What's your name again?" then she responds "Sherane." then Axl keeps going forgetting once again the moment he touches her lips. My thoughts snapped out of the awkward thought when Axl started talking.
"Well yeah, Rock stuff like that happens like 4 out of 7 days of the week." Axl said with a shrug. I immediately felt some sort of tinge of jealousy for whoever got lucky on those 4 out of 7 of the week.
"Axl I didn't know you..." I started. Then Axl cut me off.
"Were such a slut?" Axl said with a grin. I blushed once more. I really wasn't looking for that word. At that point I had gotten quiet.
"I didn't mean it like..." I started up again then I paused. Axl sighed.
"Yeah I know, guess that's one thing I would've done differently if I got another shot." Axl said with a small grin.
"R-Really?" I asked. Axl nodded.
"Well in the end spending just one night with someone leaves everyone with a sense of, I don't know...cold heartedness, but truth be told I don't think any I had time for a real relationship." Axl said leaning back.
"Did you even try?" I asked. Axl thought for a second. Then answered.
"Well yeah, of course there was this girl I really liked back in high-school, it didn't work out though." Axl answered.
"Oh why?" I asked.
"Well she just said I wasn't serious enough for her, and she was right because even now I'm completely un-serious." Axl answered as if he was in thought.
"She's missing out." I responded.
"No, not really, I mean she's doing better than me right now, for one she's a model/actress and for two she's freaking alive and happy." Axl said.
"Have you ever tried like getting her back or something?" I asked. Axl shook his head no.
"No because I'm still not serious and she's kind of a bitch." Axl shrugged. I laughed a little bit.
"Well gosh if you if put it like that." I said. Axl smiled.
"So Rock you got any love stories?" Axl asked. I shook my head no.
"Well I've got rejection stories." I said.
"Are you serious? Dude you're so nice looking." Axl said. I sighed.
"Well I'm sorta lame and I suck at talking to people." I replied.
"So do you just confess to people out of nowhere and just get rejected?" Axl asked.
"Yep just like that. I always aim for the wrong people." I responded.
"Hey can I ask you something kind of personal?" Axl said suddenly. I raised an eyebrow.
"Sure go right ahead." I responded.
"So like, am I the only guy you like or have you tried asking other guys out?" He asked. My face went blank.
"N-NO! I've never done that...because I'm not " I stammered out
"And what's wrong with that? Besides I think your adorable. Dudes would be all over that." Axl said with a smug look. I felt like I was going to have a heat stroke.
"It's not guys that I like, it's..."I stopped and couldn't finished.
"It's me." Axl finished. Then he continued.
"Gosh Rock, so picky. But you know what, I promise the more you know me, the more imperfect I become and honestly, it's not a pretty sight at the end of the day, your crush may disintegrate dude." Axl said. I nodded.
"I mean that's cool. Who would expect you to be perfect?" I wouldn't I don't think I could. Axl seems like the kind of guy to break a face and hide it. But that's what is so cool about him.
"Hmmmmm okay. But get a new crush, man. I'm not about it. Plus like I'm kinda dead. You don't want my problems." Axl said crossing his arms.
"I keep forgetting... Plus I kinda already have your problems. It's my plushie and you live in my house kinda sorta" My voice trailed off. I looked at the clock and it was blinking at me almost as if to tell me it was too early. It was about 5:34 now. Axl sighed.
"Yeah. I'm sorry." He apologized. I shook my head.
"It's nothing seriously...but erm...what am I going to do with you during school?" I said suddenly changing the subject.
"Got an extra uniform?" Axl asked with a smirked. I facepalmed.
"Heck naaaaaaaaw. There's no way you could just show up there without people recognizing you. Plus it's a public place. Why don't you stay here..." I said, but as soon as I said that I remembered what I promised earlier.
"Wanna ride in my backpack all day and troll?" I asked. Axl shrugged and then nodded.
"Am I gonna get some doughnuts?" Axl asked suddenly. I nodded not really knowing where I'd get them, but it was gonna happen. Axl smiled.
"Alright. Then after school, I kinda have a favor to ask..." Axl stated. I was curious.
"What's up?" I replied.
"Can we go to my house?" Axl asked.
I paused for a second. Axl's...house? What did this consist of, where was it, and more importantly Axl slept there. My inner fan-boy wanted to come out but I didn't want t o be wierd. At the mere mention of Axl's house I was already about it.
"I-I-I mean sure. Yes. yes please." I said suddenly. It came out all wrong. Axl chuckled at me. I looked away from him.
"Excited to see where Sempai sleeps?" Axl said with a smirk. I whacked him with a pillow. Axl didn't feel it. But there was suddenly blood on my pillow and I realized that he probably needed some band aids and stuff for his face cuts. I quietly got up and got them without saying another word. Axl looked confused but then I came back with bandaged and his face said "That makes sense."
I disinfected his cuts with this stuff my mom uses that has a stupidly long name, I then went to on to the neosporin then the bandages. I had been really close to Axl's face when yesterday would've made me die where I stood, but I felt like I was getting more used to him and it make me feel a little better. When I was done Axl's mouth out thank you. I nodded.
I then saw it was 6 and I had to start getting ready for school. I sighed.
"I'm gonna get ready for school. Don't make too much noise. My parents should be waking up right about now." I said alarming Axl. Axl just nodded.
So that happened. I got ready, we were all ready to go until suddenly I hear the voice of my mother. I literally jumped out of my skin. Axl quickly changed into a plushie and hopped in my backpack. My mom busted in my room and I'm pretty sure I lost years off my life from the shock. She smiled.
"Rock honey. You need to get going. You're gonna be late." My mother said sternly. I nodded.
"Yeah sorry, I'll go now..." I said not really looking in her eyes. She stopped me by putting her hand on my shoulder before she walked out.
"Rock, are you hiding something from me?" She asked suddenly. I stopped in my tracks. How would she even guess?
"No of course not. Why would you ask that?" I asked quickly. She titled her head at me.
"Something seems different." She said eyeing me. I sighed.
"It's puberty mom GOD!" I said in false annoyance. Now I was acting like roll. Without another word. I walked out of the house quickly and started off into the outside. I could hear Axl laughing inside of my backpack. I probably left a million questions in my mother's mind.
"S-Shut up" I said smiling to myself. Axl nudged for me to unzip. I did and he hopped out and sad on my shoulder.
"Puberty huh?" Axl said with a smirk on his little plush face. I sighed.
"Well I don't know...what was I supposed to say?" I responded.
The walk to school wasn't that long, it was a tad bit cold, but it didn't bother me because for the first time I had someone to talk to on the way there. It was great. It kept me excited and full of energy the whole day, I even volunteered to do a problem on the board because I was so hype. I was so hype I didn't even care that someone stepped on my vanz at one point in the day. I was so hype I didn't care that I got bumped in the hallway by a guy who was on some other stuff. I was just so hype.
When school finally ended, Axl nudged for me to open my backpack one more time, and he came flying out. He hit the concrete. It made a small sound, which screamed "DAMN THAT MUST'VE HURT." Axl however got up without a sound or struggle. I titled my head, he looked up at me in his small form and replied :
"It didn't hurt." He said with a brush of his nose and a peace sign. I sighed. Axl changed into regular form and smirked.
"Alright so what's the plan." I asked a bit more curious as to why we were going to his house. Axl thought for a second and then his face got animated.
"Lets see, we're gonna go to my house, not my current one but the one I grew up in, Red's house I mean, and we're gonna search for clues." Axl said with a nod.
"Why would you think Red's house would have clues Axl?" I asked a bit thrown off. Axl scratched his head.
"Well... you see, the vision I saw last night asked me who I trusted the most. I trust the man with my life. Obviously, that was the wrong answer, he must've had something to do with it some how. As much as that disturbs me." Axl said as if the words were almost hard to get out.
"I thought it was the Illuminati?" I asked. Axl nodded.
"Red is a big time producer. I wouldn't put it past him to have some ties or connections with them." Axl said looking up. I sat in thought for a second.
"Is going to be home? I'd imagine he wouldn't work if you died. Wouldn't he be in mourning?" I asked. Axl shook his head.
"His own wife died two years ago and the man didn't stop working for that, what makes you think he would stop for me. Odds are he's still on the other side of the country right now. Now is the perfect chance to go look and if there's nothing there's nothing, but I can't let this chance pass me by." Axl said almost with a determined face.
"Right. So how are we going to get there?" I asked. Axl smirked.
"X." Axl said whipping his phone out of his pocket.
Axl ended up getting on the phone with X, but it turned out that he was stuck in an interview at the moment, so Axl threw a fake childish fit on the phone which probably made the person interviewing X cringe, after it was all said and done, Axl decided he would call Zero, the guy from yesterday. He did in fact pick up the phone and came to pick us up in less than 10 minutes. When he did he rolled up in some sort of red sports car I had no idea what it was called but I felt like everyone else in the world probably knew.
We quickly and quietly got in the car, Zero then Rolled up the windows and started to drive off.
"So Axl, hows death treating you?" Zero said with a smirk. Axl gave him a face that said "Bro why u making one liners bro?!"
"Pretty good, I've got this death counter on my forehead and I think I'm loosing it. How you're hair today?"
"I tried this Moroccan oil stuff on it and it gave it this beautiful volume and shine and..." Axl then cut Zero off.
"You could've been like it's good but naaaaaaaaaaw Zero gotta tell me what product he used and how it worked" Axl said with a laugh.
"You just mad cause I got this mad rad hair." Zero said with a hair flip. Axl and I immediately recognized the blood on the dance floor references and we made a face at Zero.
"It's too soon Zero. Too soon." Axl said.
"I have to wait 5 years huh?" Zero said.
"Yes that should go unspoken." Axl said looking Zero over. Axl seemed a little different somehow.
"So I never asked, why are you going to red's place." Zero asked all of a sudden. Axl paused before answering.
"Can't tell you Zero." Axl said suddenly. I had fully expected Axl to just come out and tell Zero his reasoning but he didn't. In the back of my mind I wondered why.
"Well...fine..." Zero said shooting Axl a strange look, I didn't know what it meant. Zero then changed the subject very quickly. But still something didn't sit right with me about Zero after that. Just in that one second when I saw that strange look everything somehow changed. The car was tense and very awkward. By the time we'd gotten there the tension felt as thick as pea soup, if I wanna get all stereotypical with the metaphors here.
When we'd gotten out of the car Axl let out a deep sigh. When Zero had driven off Axl looked at me with worried look. I was a bit concerned.
"Something wasn't right with Zero just now. I have a bad feeling" Axl said. I nodded.
"Yeah it was a little strange." I responded, sort of knowing what he meant.
"Anyways, lets begin." Axl said walking towards the front of the door. I followed close behind. Axl pulled out a house key that he had in his pocket, it was on a chain of other keys, I wondered where they all went, but then I realized that Axl probably has more than one house. He opened the door and then looked around, then he nodded for me to come in as well. I was a bit nervous there was this feeling of unease in my throat, I felt like something could happen at any minute. Axl turned around and looked at me. I stopped walking in my tracks.
"Rock~! Calm down. It'll be fine. I don't think anyone is here." Axl said. I nodded getting a mental grip on myself.
The house itself was huge, literally huge. There was nothing about this house that was small, and it smelled completely like cinnamon. I followed Axl and we completely ignored the first floor. Axl ran up the stairs and I followed. I wondered suddenly why he sped up all of a sudden. I followed none the less. He sprinted down the hallway to stop at a huge towering door. I looked around the hallway and it was painted completely black. It was like this whole wing of the house was completely separate from everything else it made me feel like I was somewhere I shouldn't be.
Axl started to walk slower when suddenly He tapped the door knob. Out came a small touch pad that looked like it needed a code. Axl stopped and thought for a minute and I back up a bit feeling like I was too close to him.
"AHA" Axl yelled and I almost jumped out of my skin.
"W-What?" I said almost running out the house. Axl laughed. I was confused.
"No it's just I remembered, old dude is basic. We're in~!" Axl said as he opened the large door. We both walked in and he shut the door behind him.
The whole room felt like a mid evil castle. It was kind of eerie. Axl sighed. I looked over at him.
"Welcome to Red's room~!" Axl shouted with spirit fingers. I was captivated by the room.
"It's erm...retro..." I said looking around poking at a creepy ancient looking decoration on the wall.
"I always thought it was sorta romantic in here. I brought a girl in here once, instant turn off." Axl said as if remembering and shaking his head. I laughed.
"Nothing like armor and castle decor to get you right?" I said with a smile. Axl chuckled.
"Shoooooooot just being in here gives me wood." Axl said nonchalantly. I noticed he walked over to a giant cubbard. He then took out a key and opened it on his long chain of keys, when he opened it we both saw something that made us cringe.
The infamous all-seeing eye. Axl stepped back a little bit as if not believing it. I walked closer to see a list of names. I saw a few that shocked me. It hurt a little bit and I knew Axl wouldn't take it well.
"Axl, you, should come look at this." I said pointing. He walked towards me slowly and I moved aside so he could see, he gawked for a second.
"This is some shit." Axl said in a low voice. Suddenly he just dropped to the ground on his knees. I looked away uneasy. This meant no one was safe. Zero and X, they were on this list, the list of members, so was Red. Axl was having a mental breakdown and I couldn't move. It felt heavy, the whole situation.
Axl suddenly got up and took his phone out of his pocket and took a few pictures. It was evidence, Axl was thinking about the future. I spotted him and listened to hear if anyone was coming.I felt as if we were in more danger than before.
Suddenly we heard a noise come from the other side of the house. Axl shot up and I slightly panicked. I felt like I was going to make a noise when suddenly Axl put his hand over my mouth and nuged in the direction of another door. I nodded and followed Axl smiled at me. I blushed a little bit. We moved fast when suddenly we heard the foot steps get closer, and someone entered Red's room. We were out of there, thankfully.
Axl sighed. I followed him. Axl looked like he was going to another door. This time this door, has a poster of Mai from Fatal Fury on it. It wasn't locked, Axl opened it really quickly ran inside he went in the closet and grabbed a cupcake backpack from what looked like a shelf. I was a bit confused.
"Alright, lets get out of here." Axl whispered. I nodded.
We quietly creeped out of the house, when we'd finally gotten out. Axl laughed. I was a bit thrown off by this.
"That some real stuff wasn't it? God, it's like something out of a bad mystery novel..." Axl said his voice trailing off.
"Axl..." I started. Axl shook his head.
"Rock, I'm sorry I put you in danger. I really am. They know I'm with you."Axl said looking off into the distance. We started walking down what seemed like an endless road. It looked and felt like a cold desert. It was only fall. I stood quietly.
"Axl, why would they try to kill you?" I asked suddenly. There was no reason they would need to. Axl didn't have any ties to them. X and Zero from what I've heard were Axl's best friends. Red was his mentor and it just didn't make sense to me. I know it was hurting Axl. I felt like deep down he knew the reason. But I just couldn't fathom it. When was it ever okay for this to happen to someone? Never. Axl stopped in his tracks.
"Well it might be a rumor, but, Sacrifice? I actually don't think I have it all pieced together my self Rock. But I know I can't stop here. I just can't." Axl said with a sure look on his face.
"Where do you go from here? What are you going to do?" I asked. Axl scratched his head.
"Well I can't leave you alone because number 1, X knows I'm staying at your house. Number 2, I'd be upset if something happened to you just because of me. I couldn't bear it. So...that's a good question." Axl said.
"Aren't you worried about yourself? You only have 4 days after this." I knew I had worry in my voice, but I couldn't help it, he was completely disregarding that his life was at stake and it just didn't make sense to me. Axl walked closer and put his hand on my shoulder, I looked up at him.
"Honestly, right now, you're more important...see think about it like this, you're still alive. I'm not. I died and even if my time runs out, I want to protect you cause it's not your fault that you're in this mess. It would suck. Then we'd be dead ghost buddies." Axl said voice trailing off. I couldn't help but smile at the dead ghost buddies.
"Alright. So, where do we go from here." I asked absentmindedly still taken with the fact that Axl thought I was important.
"Not your house. They know where that is." Axl said in serious thought. I paused for a second then I thought of the answer to our prayers.
"Blues." I said suddenly.
"Blues...like? We're gonna sing?" Axl said with a squint. I shook my head.
"My older brother. He lives in an apartment that's not too far away, he owes me a solid." I said getting out my phone. Axl shrugged and turned away as if to give me privacy while I called. Blues picked up the phone quickly. On the other like I heard white noise from the TV.
"Little brother I was enjoying my nap." Blues said sternly as if he was irritated I was calling right now. I smiled at that.
"Blues, can I er...stay with you for a little bit, with a friend." I said, I didn't want to say everything on the phone. Who knows, maybe people tapped it. It had just gotten serious.
"Sure thing. You need me to pick you up or something?" Blues said with a yawn. I looked around and saw we were still far away from the city.
"Yeah, we're a little bit by the highway-" I said suddenly, I stopped to see a familiar car. It abruptly stopped and I saw X was in the car. He got out quickly.
"Axl! Rock! What are you guys doing out here?" X said with visible concern. I hung up. This was about to get serious.
"Nothing, taking a romantic walk." Axl said with a smirk. X titled his head.
"Er...well I heard that you went to your house Axl, to find stuff, Zero told me." X said. Something was wrong. We never told Zero why we were going to Axl's house. I'm sure Axl caught this so I shut up and went along with it.
"Oh huh? Zero told you. Well X I have something to tell you...come here." Axl said waving his hands for X to come closer. X walked closer, Axl put his hands on X's shoulder and then spoke.
"X...I heard your favorite dessert was...MASHED NUTS." Upon yelling mashed nuts Axl kneed X in the nuts extremely hard. Axl let him go and X fell to the floor.
"Y-You...found out..." X muttered grabbing his groin. Axl bent down and grabbed X's car keys from his hand. Axl smiled and winked.
"Bitch you guessed~!" Axl said then he continued. "I'll be back to beat that ass later X. For now I'm borrowing your car." Axl said. I was a bit shocked at how quickly the situation escalated so quickly.
Axl and I got in the car and suddenly, I just burst out laughing. Axl looked over in question.
"Baki the grappler...really?"
"I've been waiting my whole life to do it, get off me" Axl said with a snicker. I smiled.
"It was epic." I confessed.
"See everything's alright~! We'll just do some weeabo shit on anyone that comes after us." Axl said confidently. At this point I couldn't help but laugh.
It was crazy, the Illuminati was probably coming to get me, but I was having the time of my life. Like what?
To be continued.
Man guys sorry about that me not uploading for a bit. Froggy got them life problems right now. So much so I've been sitting up in the middle of the night drawing pictures of Kyo Kusanagi feeling some type of way, while listening to The Smiths, but it's all apart of getting older right? Anyways, CHAPTER 4 GONE GET HYPE...YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. Shout out to Night~! that random reviewer that is feeling this story, you're fabulous~!
Welp until next time~!
