Thanks to Endings Matter Most, Pantharya, shushan, and Legendary Chimera for reviews!

Chapter 4: Axel

Axel's thoughts upon coming face-to-face with his quarry were somewhat mixed. On the one hand, he was glad to be spared the trouble of going through the castle to find him, but on the other hand, killing him in front of Naminé was going to be vaguely unpleasant. The girl wasn't stupid- she had to have figured out who the newcomer was and what Axel intended to do with him, and she'd already positioned herself squarely in front of Sora's pod, as if to shield him from whatever was about to happen.

Zexion had appeared from his portal, chin held high, a tiny smirk across his lips, speaking boldly and clearly and not betraying even an ounce of apprehension. The aggression was very unlike the tiny Nobody, which almost certainly meant that he believed he had some sort of ace up his sleeve. That was as far as Axel's analysis got, however- reading people or Nobodies was not exactly his, as they say, thing. Axel the Nobody had little use for other people beyond entertainment, and his Other had been somewhat of a surly recluse.

For you see, in his previous life, Axel was an accountant.

Alex Lea Walker, that had been his insufferably dull name back then. The intention had been Alex Lee, but his mother wasn't the best at spelling, and no one in the family had ever bothered to pay the fee to have it legally changed. He lived on a tiny shithole of a world in a tiny shithole of a town where the weather was atrociously bad and there was absolutely nothing to do but count money and raise dogs and all the children were always succumbing to the horrible-illness-of-the-fortnight. And every time, every goddamn time, the train would break down with all the medicine on board and a team of hand-picked sled dogs would have to sled it across the barren, inhospitable wilderness while the townspeople waited on tenterhooks to see if their children would be able to cling to life for that long. And every goddamn time Alex Lea Walker would say Hey, why don't we just invest in better railroads? And then everyone would laugh at him.

Well, who's laughing now, Alaska!?

Yes, Alex had not been the happiest of gentlemen, trapped in the eternal ice and snow, working a boring dead-end job, and constantly surrounded by disgusting sickly children and panicky parents and obnoxious smelly dogs. His world had been one of the first destroyed by the Heartless, and to be frank, they really did him and the rest of the universe a favor.

Axel had been as surprised as one would expect when he died but his body decided to keep right on living. He supposed he should spare a thought of sympathy for his poor dead bastard of an Other, but honestly, his only thoughts were those of freedom. Freedom from Alex Lea Walker, CPA and his stupid misspelled name and his horrifying train wreck of a life. Those first few weeks were a constant party, hopping from world to world, drinking and dancing and just generally indulging in the boundless hedonism and avarice that had been completely inaccessible to infamous stick-up-the-butt Alex Lea. That was how the budding Organization had found him- wandering the streets of Agrabah drunk as a skunk and openly laughing at all the children who would surely die of preventable illnesses since sled dogs couldn't travel in the desert.

The Organization recruited him, slapped him with a number, and explained to him what he was and what was their mission and everything. The Superior (or 'hey, boss' as Axel preferred to call him) called an emergency meeting to determine procedure for a name already containing an X, and after a few days of arguing they agreed to dub him Axxle. Shortly thereafter, taking full advantage of the fact that you don't have to pay an exorbitant fee to change a name made up by a cabal of undead freakjobs, he quietly changed the spelling to Axel, and no one ever said anything about it, so it stayed. It did not escape his attention that his new chosen name worked perfectly for his misspelled middle name of Lea- maybe his mom was smarter than he'd thought? Maybe it was fate.

Axel never missed his heart all that much. His Other certainly hadn't been in the habit of using it. As such, the Organization's mission didn't stir any kind of devotion in him. He was in it for the action- for something to do. Being undead was not nearly as much fun as one might expect, and he was smart enough to realize that as the years dragged on, doing whatever he wanted would gradually become more and more dull, until he finally re-killed himself out of the agonizing boredom. His relation to the Organization was like the retired man who went back to work at a factory making pencils for pennies a day. The place gave him purpose, a reason to keep existing to the extent that he did.

These past few weeks, where he'd been living at Castle Oblivion, had been the most enjoyable yet. Xemnas had hand-picked everyone he distrusted in the Organization and sent them to the new castle under the pretense of conquering new territory. Axel's mission had been quite simply, in exact words, 'make sure that all of them die.' Killing them all straight-away wouldn't be as much fun, though, so he'd sat on the sidelines and observed as the marked traitors split into two factions and quabbled among themselves, and watched with only minor interventions and more than a shadow of glee as the two Keyblade wielders did his job for him. Yes, Axel's new life was going quite swimmingly.

Unfortunately, he'd underestimated Zexion. Oh well. The kid wasn't any sort of fighter- the kill would be easy. It just seemed a damn shame, when everything else had gone so well, to have to get his hands dirty this late in the game. But that's all it was, after all- a game, and with one more slice, Axel would be the winner.

"Speak of the devil," he said casually, even as he summoned his two massive chakram to his hands. "I was just about to come look for you, dear Zexion. I do believe we have some business to discuss."

"Indeed. I have some things to discuss with you as well, Axel." Zexion's smirk widened, and his eyes drifted lazily over to the pod. "Is that the Keyblade master?"

"You know as well as the rest of us," Axel said bluntly, already tiring of polite conversation. All he had to do was toss a chakram, that was it- Zexion wouldn't even be able to defend himself. Or maybe he should just set him on fire? So many delicious options, so little time. In his mind, Axel was already back in his comfy bed in the World That Never Was, feet propped up, conjuring fires and watching little moths float to him just to sizzle and die. A little odd, yes, but that's what he liked doing, and he was eager to get back to it. Castle Oblivion was just a little too bleak, even for a Nobody, and the weeks he'd spent there were taking a toll on his not-disposition.

Meanwhile, Zexion was looking around for something. His eyes darted around the room this way and that, and his nostrils twitched, testing the air. Finally his confident expression faded somewhat, and he turned to Axel for answers.

"When did Marluxia fade?" Ah. So that's what he'd been worried about. Axel had assumed that Zexion already knew. All his assumptions would probably end up biting him in the ass someday.

"Just now. Right before he agreed to this, so Naminé could put his memories back together," Axel answered, jabbing a thumb towards Sora's pod to indicate who 'he' was. "The four of us here are the only ones left in the entire castle."

"Well, almost," Zexion sighed, sounding almost disappointed, and he reached a hand back into his portal. A bit weird that he'd left it open like that, but maybe he was going to try to make a quick escape? Axel didn't mind- a chase would make his job more fun. If he'd known what Zexion was about to pull out of that portal, he might have tried a little harder to kill him more quickly.

"Did you hear that?" he called into the black. Who was he talking to? Heartless? Dusks? "Your Sora is here, like I said. Come see him."

The person- for it was a person, not a Heartless nor a Dusk- who stepped out of that portal was the absolute last person Axel had expected to see, well, ever again. That was Zexion's big trump card?

"The stupid Replica?" he asked incredulously. "Hasn't anyone gotten rid of it yet?" He asked the question while looking directly at Riku, as if the boy himself had the answer as to why he hadn't been taken out with the rest of Castle Oblivion's trash.

Riku ignored what Axel had said as if he were set dressing, brushing straight past him and his weapons and directly toward Sora's pod, stopping as soon as he came face-to-face with Naminé. He was wearing, as the Replica usually did, the uniform Maleficent had created- the showy black and purple spandex number with the thick feathered skirt. Axel vastly preferred the uniform of the Organization. The coats were much classier, he thought. But then, Nobodies were much more refined than the brutal Heartless and their masters.

"What happened?" Riku asked sharply. He addressed the question to Naminé, who stared back up at him, unflinching.

"He's asleep," was all she said. Riku grabbed onto Naminé's shoulders and gently moved her to one side so he could get a better look. Naminé allowed him to do so, eyeing him cautiously before turning to answer Axel's question from before.

"This isn't the Replica. He's the real Riku," she said softly. Axel wasn't surprised at all, though he probably should have been. He just raised an eyebrow, looking to Zexion for confirmation. Zexion's eyes were closed.

"The real Riku," Axel repeated, drawing out each syllable. The boy certainly didn't look any different from the replica, but that was probably just a testament to Vexen's engineering skills, and Naminé would certainly recognize her own work. "You brought him up from the basement? I didn't think you guys had it in you." So the team in the basement would have been triumphant in the end, after all. Maybe they'd get a consolation prize in hell.

"Yes," Naminé confirmed once again. Riku didn't weigh in on the argument over his realness.

"We were all sent here to die." Zexion's words were sudden and clear. The gears were still turning in his brain- Axel could see them, and he had to admit he was impressed. "All of us. Marluxia and Larxene, too. The Keybearers, the Replica, all of the planning and fighting- it was all just postponing the inevitable, wasn't it." His eyes opened slowly, turning to focus on Axel, completely expressionless. "Everyone was sent here to die except you. You were never working with Marluxia at all."

"Well done! I always knew you were the smart one," Axel grinned. This, this right here was the fun part- the dramatic send-up, the part where the villain reveals his dastardly plot. "I am, indeed, a free agent. Or rather, I'm the only one out of all you sorry lot who's still working for the Organization we belong to."

"I'm one of the founding members," Zexion said flatly. Riku, Naminé, and Sora faded into the background.

"Sure, sure. But you signed your life away when you started working to steal the Organization away from Marluxia, who was trying to steal it from the Superior. He was suspicious of you, you know. That's why he sent you out here with the rest of the traitors- to test you. Unfortunately for you, you failed. Big time." Axel twirled a chakram lazily around one of his wrists. "And that's why I have to kill you. It's nothing personal. Unless you'd like to do the honors, Riku?"

Axel had not, of course, forgotten that Riku was present, and neither had Zexion or Naminé, judging by the way everyone calmly turned to see his response. Naminé had backed up a few paces to give Riku some space, but was clearly ready to pounce should he try anything funny with the pod. Riku himself was standing silently, staring directly into his fellow Keyblade bearer's sleeping face.

"He's supposed to be taking care of Kairi. He promised me," Riku muttered, completely unconcerned with the Organization's internal strife. "And here he is, taking a nap."

"It's a little more complicated than that," Naminé tried to explain, but Riku ignored her. He turned around to face Zexion and Axel. The latter was rather intrigued with him- he really couldn't be more different from Sora, and yet they were best friends?

The heart was rather odd.

"You promised to help me," Riku said quietly, directed at Zexion. "Were you lying?"

"Of course not," Zexion said quickly, a little too quickly. So he really was afraid of dying. That knowledge gave Axel power. He'd remember that for later. "I can get you to the Destiny Islands in an instant." Ah, pandering to the Keybearer. The total lack of pride in the name of self-preservation might turn out to be a problem.

"And you," Riku said, turning to Axel. "I don't know who you are, but you seem like a really huge asshole."

"World's hugest," Axel said somewhat cheerfully, but his eyes narrowed. What was this kid getting at?

"You brought me to see Sora, just like you said you would," Riku finished, back towards Zexion. "So, I guess for now I'm just going to have to keep trusting you." With a flash of dark energy, a Keyblade appeared in his right hand, and he pointed it directly at Axel's chest.

"You kill him, I kill you."

Axel just stared. This particular contingency was not something he had planned for, not in a million years. He'd been prepared to take out Sora, sure, but fighting the kid one-on-one had been manageable- no way could he beat Zexion and Riku together. The darkness was rolling off Riku in heavy waves. He'd be able to get Zexion easily enough, but then Riku would kill him while he was busy killing Zexion, and then they'd both be dead. There wasn't enough time to summon enough Assassin dusks to take on a Keybearer, let alone one infused with darkness. He supposed the Superior wouldn't care too much if he died on his mission, but hell, Axel cared. He was not planning on dying, not today, and certainly not at the hands of some dumb little lackey of Zexion's.

He reached into the depths of his memory, both his own and Otherwise, to see if there was anything he could do but surrender. Alex Lea's method of dealing with problems was to kick a puppy. Well, that was no help.

"Ok, we compromise," he gritted out. His mighty victory was slipping through his fingers. "I don't want to die, and neither do you. Riku wants to go home. Have I got that right?" No one responded, tacitly agreeing with him. He pressed on. "So here's what we're going to do. We're going home to the World That Never Was. It's close to your islands," he told Riku. Not exactly true in the physical-location sense, but portals of darkness took the same amount of time to get anywhere in the universe, so functionally speaking it was close enough to the truth to not be a lie. "Zexion lives, I live, Riku goes home. Deal?" Meanwhile, Zexion would be under watch by the rest of the Organization, and Axel could plan his next move.

He wasn't retreating, he was advancing in a different direction. Yeah, that was it.

"Fine," Zexion sighed. "I will take Riku. Is that all right?"

"What about Sora?" Riku asked suddenly.

"I'll stay here with him." Naminé had been completely silent for most of the conversation, but now, she stepped back in and placed her body back in front of Sora's pod. Nothing was going to move her, not even a herd of rampaging Large Body Heartless. She was no danger to anyone, in any case- might as well leave her behind.

"Ok, she stays here. The three of us leave together." Zexion did not appear to like the idea of traveling through darkness with Axel any more than Riku appeared to like the idea of leaving Sora behind. "Relax. Naminé's the only one who can do anything for Sora anyway, and if I try anything, Riku will kill me, remember?"

That did not make anyone relax. That made Axel smile.

"Let's just go already! I need to see Kairi!" Riku finally snapped, swinging his Keyblade, a clear threat to break his truce and kill both of them. With a final, suspicious glance at each other, the two Nobodies took his advice, summoned a portal, and whisked themselves off towards their home.

Woo! We're goin' places!

The lovely shushan in reviews asked what was going on re: the plot of Chain of Memories, and really, I can't explain it very well, so I told her (him?) to wiki it, LOL. Suffice to say, Sora and Riku had wacky and comical adventures in a creepy castle, Sora's sleeping because his memory is screwed up, and Naminé's the only one who can fix it. A lot of the rest of it re: Organization strife is just my speculation. :D And, of course, Riku is not actually recruited by Organization 13 in the game- Vexen and Lexaeus try and fail, and then Zexion tries to kill him and fails, ending up dead at the hands of the Riku Replica. Basically, the entire premise of this story is that I love Zexion and wanted him to live. LOL.

Also, no, Balto is not Disney, but neither is freakin' A. A. Milne, so I reserve my right to use non-Disney movies in the pursuit of random hilarity. Plus, I am apparently too petty to mention Alaska without also making a dig at Sarah Palin later on in the same chapter, so anyone who caught that gets bragging rights and awesome points. :D

Next chapter: Riku Replica