-appears from under a rug- h-hi? wow, i've been gone for a long time...-sob- i already said this in my last update for my other story but i'll say it again:
i-am-sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-sorry...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111one one one!!! (that's really overused...oh well!)
it's just that with high school and holiday shopping and homework, i haven't gotten enough time to write. only on the weekends are when i really can pull out Axie Waxie (laptop's name X3) and spend hours writing! even on some of those days i have writer's block! -faints- mmhft...i seriously think i'll die writing one of these days... DX
well, to make up, i made this a bit of a long chapter. this is actually the beginning of Part II to this story so there's quite a bit going on!
i apologize ahead of time if this is really bad writing. i seriously think i've been writing for so long that my work is deteriorating into dead stuff...DX

Chap XIII

What could people be thinking in a state of mind that feels stripped of memory? Memories are what complete someone's past. For a Nobody, it is most likely indescribable of the confusion they endure without their treasured memories. The people they once held close, the places that once stole their breath away, and the emotions that once rushed in their bodies. All they can do is remember faintly what it was like to feel a heart...but once memories are stolen, they are left to cope with near nonexistence.

There was a boy...young and energetic. Most people on his world turned to him for someone to talk to...someone to trust. They knew his heart was strong. They knew his soul was intended to keep him and others together. That was why he was chosen. Glistening eyes would stare out to the sea, beyond the horizon. And though they ventured far, he never once thought of departing this world. He loved his home, his world, his sanctuary. He loved his friends, his family, his sanctuary.

In each heartbeat, he remained chosen. Laying in the sand, watching the silver fish, swimming beside a waterfall...he remained oblivious to his secret power locked within his heart. Then, his heart called out for him...that day his sanctuary was overpowered by contorting darkness. That very day the shadows engulfed his beloved world, his heart remained strong. He resisted the darkness and walked toward the light, leaving his loved ones adrift in worlds apart. Still, his heart held together.

Hearts were lost; hearts were regained.

Memories were stolen; memories were chained together once again.

A world lost to the darkness; a world revived by the light.

Fears and lies melted away in the vast blue sky.

Now, he waits for you...

The warmth of the sun against Roxas' face awoke him that morning. Actually, he thought it might have been his dream. With a light groan, he recalled to memory the warmth against his face and blankly stared at his bed sheets the moment he sat upright.

"Another dream about him..." Who was 'him'? Once again, the gentle ringing of bells in the distance caught his attention and he turned to face his dusty window. Pushing them open, he felt the warmness stroke his cheek once he appeared under sunlight. So familiar...so bizarre. Everything felt that way after arriving in this new world: Twilight Town.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He missed him. More than ever, he longed to see him again. Ever since he departed this dark world, the darkness only seemed to intensify and, for once in his life, he barely spoke to anyone. After all, no once appeared to care that he left.

I knew he would betray

He doesn't care for a heart as much as we do

He was useless

All they ever did was intimidate him...he hated them for driving him away like that. If they hadn't, he would be here, at this moment, beside him. He should have stopped him from walking away...to admit, he was too weak at the time to even say more than: "...I would..."

Waking up was the worst every day. His head pounded and he always felt as if he would retch. Of course, that was what alcohol did to you. Groaning to himself, the red head pulled his pillow lazily over his head and lay face down in his bed. Another night of wasting his time on drinking. Another night of turning to liquor to release depression. He could smell the alcohol on his pillow and, disgusted, pulled out from underneath it and attempted to bring the ceiling into clear vision.

"Damn hangover..." Axel grumbled and turned to the left side of his bed.

"Hey, Roxas. You...oh, right..." Just as he carefully nudged the sheets and felt no one there, he sighed and released a slurred chuckled. He was surprised that he actually remembered that little guy's name. How long was it now? Nearly a year? Longer? Maybe it was only a few weeks for all he knew.

"Can't believe this..." After nearly becoming dizzied by laughing to himself, he slumped back to face the ceiling and rested a limp arm over his forehead. The only one in the Order that was really concerned about him was Demyx but he barely talked about Roxas now. When he did talk about Roxas, he would only mention how stupid he was for leaving. Not like that helped at all...

Were those weapons Roxas had before that important to him? He doubted it. But, should he see him again...

When some time passed, he leaned toward the nightstand to his right and clumsily felt around for something in the darkness. It took some effort and one tipped over glass bottle before he finally retrieved it. Through the shadows, he could barely see the distinctive pieces to the object. His hangover only added to the stress but, he remained stubborn and persisted to stare at it.

In the palm of his hand was a small keychain, red and white in color with a thin silver chain dangling at its end. It appeared much like a mini version of his Chakrams but, of course, using it that way wasn't its purpose. He knew Roxas obtained something called a Keyblade. If ever he saw that boy again, he hoped he'd accept this from him.

A thin, conniving smile curved his lips and he leaned back into his pillow while he dangled the mini Chakram over his head. He had planned that, one day, he would start out. It would be risky, he knew that. But, if Roxas had done it, he knew he had just as much chances as Roxas did.

"Like I said: I've got a goal to bring him back to me..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What was there to think about Twilight Town? It was like any other world besides the fact that the time of day was always... well...twilight. He was always told by his classmates that there were so many worlds out there. And even though they seemed amazing, he took little interest in leaving...but he couldn't really say that Twilight Town was his home.

Sure, people could run freely on the streets and teens were free to play tag on the rooftops. And sure, there wasn't major violence or anything like it all year round. Still, waking up every twilight-filled morning felt lonesome in a way.

No one really greeted him good morning and no one really watched him leave the house. Just him...

Summer was honestly the only time that someone was there to keep him company. After that, no one. Just him...sleeping in an empty bed, an empty house...living an empty life.

"Roxas!"

"Come on, man! Could you take any longer to get up?!"

Roxas shook his head at the floor while turning to tie his left shoe. Even in summer vacation he had a curfew of when to wake up in the morning. Well, summer really wasn't going to be around much longer. Seven days was what was left. Sad...and they hadn't even gone to the beach yet.

He lazily pulled up from the floor and pulled the door open enough for him to slip through. He never bothered to look back at the emptiness of the house. There wasn't much to look at. So, just like any other day, he shut the door behind him and sent himself off with a goodbye.

It was probably one of Twilight Town's better days. Even though summer was ending, the autumn weather refused to kick in. People couldn't really tell when it was going to rain. Nobody could even remember the last time the town got a real snowfall. It was like...well, almost like nothing ever changed in Twilight Town. All that was really new was the new blonde kid that moved in across the street. The one that belonged with that trio that claimed that spot in the back of the alley as theirs. He was just another somebody...

Roxas

Roxas skipped down the last couple of steps and scanned around the seemingly deserted neighborhood. Wait, weren't they just here?

Dazed, Roxas took another awkward glance to his right where the brick road parted into two separate directions: one leading down a hill to the Tram Common while a narrower path cut in between two buildings. He figured that Hayner couldn't wait for even a few more seconds and shook his head, breaking into a run toward the second road.

The back alley was a little place in Twilight Town that not many people paid attention to. All it was ever known for was a place to post Lost Dog posters and throw bottles away. But, for the four of them, it was something perfect; irreplaceable. Ever since Seifer grew bored of it in the beginning of the summer, the back alley became instant paradise.

"Couldn't wait, could you, Hayner?" Roxas said, pushing back the red tarp that served as the door to the Usual Spot.

"What're you talking about? Wait for what?" Hayner replied, pushing himself up onto the old furnace for a place to sit.

Roxas blinked. "Huh? Weren't you guys just outside my window this morning? Y'know...trying to wake me up?" He dragged his feet over to the couch and sat down, trying to get something out of Pence and Olette too.

Olette, a chocolate-brown haired girl, shook her head. "We've been here all morning. Hayner's been complaining about..."

"About Seifer again," Pence, who was seated in the corner, interrupted. He turned back to Hayner who did just what he was good at: complaining, swearing and being an overall bastard. Olette shrugged and had no choice but to join in on the ranting. Roxas just left his palms open toward him in his lap, letting the words fly by.

Sure, Hayner was his best friend and all and so were Pence and Olette. But when it came to Seifer, he couldn't care less about what the conversation held. He was introduced to Seifer on the first day of school last year. Of course, it wasn't the nicest introduction. Seifer simply gave him this 'evil smirk' and walked away, roughly brushing shoulders with Hayner before disappearing around a corner.

Hayner always hated Seifer and everything he did. Seifer just enjoyed watching their group's misfortune; especially if he was that one that caused it.

Why was he thinking about Seifer anyway? It wasn't like he really cared. He just mentioned that to himself a minute ago. Besides the fact that summer was ending, all that Roxas ever had the time to think about were those strange dreams he had been having all summer. He had another, just that morning, only this time it was almost real. If someone had been there with him, he knew even they would be at a loss of words.

It was a place where you could hear the music playing in the distance. You knew it was playing and you knew that there wasn't much of a meaning to the beat and the words. But even though it couldn't be understood, you could still listen to it and let it take you away. You could almost feel it...almost like, if you reached out far enough, you could grab every note and the song would never end. You could see the people...their faces. But even the people had no real meaning to them. They were just characters. Put in that place to move to the music...or maybe...maybe they were more than just people. Maybe they were part of the melody themselves.

"Yeah, that's just wrong."

"Seifer's gone too far this time!"

"I know, right, Roxas? Right?"

Roxas looked up from his empty hands at the sound of his name and, without even knowing what was going on, nodded since it looked like a gesture that Hayner really needed right now. He wished he hadn't looked up. Then again, day dreaming wasn't helping at all. From the looks of things, Hayner had gotten Pence and Olette rattled up about Seifer too. Now that was rare. What was even weirder was that he was slowly starting to get into it too.

"See, that's not was bugs me," Hayner started while jumping down from the furnace, "What really bugs me is that he's going around telling everyone we're the thieves!"

"Thieves?" Roxas whispered to himself. His, as well as Pence and Olette's, eyes followed Hayner as he crossed the room, sending air punches this way and that.

"Now the whole town and their mother's are treating us like we're the 'Klepto Club'! Have you ever been this ticked off in your life?!"

Roxas nearly jumped up when Hayner raised his voice in his face. He obediently stared Hayner directly in the eye and moved back when one of Hayner's fists came only centimeters from his nose. Apparently this was really a big deal...for once. He shook his head in a way that a little five year old would have done.

"'Cause I know I haven't! Nuh-uh, no, never!" Hayner turned back and faced the entrance of the Usual Spot with this spark in his eyes that signaled 'I'm out to kill'. "Now, what to do?" He scoffed while absently punching his hand.

Olette turned to Roxas who immediately got the message just through the way she bit her lip. He's your best friend; make him stop!

"Looks like it's up to me...great." Roxas drew in a deep breath. "Well...couldn't we capture the real thief? That would set the record straight, right?"

Hayner tapped a finger against his cheek and stared at the ceiling in thought. "That could work..."

"Sounds like fun!" Pence always had this habit of breaking the depression in a scene by doing the most random things. Roxas stood from the couch and watched Pence run across the room.

"I mean, it would clear our names. Think about it, it's better that having to go through major shunning the rest of the summer."

Olette nodded in agreement and beamed up at Hayner. "Yeah, we can settle this!"

"Uhm..."

"No!"

Roxas glanced behind Hayner's shoulder to where Pence had run off to. He was holding his camera up to eye level in complete shock.

"What's up, Pence? Out of film?" Hayner teased.

"Not funny! All our ------ are gone!" It was after that that Pence's eyes widened and he dropped his camera, the one he had carried everywhere with him and spent most of his munny on before school started, back onto the wooden table where he had picked it up from. Slowly, he poked at his throat with his finger. "Uh...w-wha?"

Hayner's eyes, too, widened in shock. Whether it was because of Pence's priceless camera dropping or the fact that Pence was mute for that one second, Roxas didn't know. "What do you mean? All of the ------?" He grabbed at his throat helplessly, clearing it once to make sure he wasn't choked up.

Roxas cocked his head to the side and turned to Olette who had her hand covered over her mouth when she, too, failed to speak that one word. What if...what if he couldn't say it either? With a light breath, he formed his mouth to speak only to have his throat tighten and leave him short one breath...nothing. What was this?

"But, you do get what I'm trying to say, right? Our ------ are gone! All of 'em!" Pence said while dusting off his camera.

"I get what you're trying to say...but...why? How? Who?" Hayner crossed his arms skeptically over his chest and glared at the floor. "That's definitely too crazy. Too crazy of a crime for Seifer to commit."

"Not just the ------ but the word ------ too. What kind of a thief is that?" Olette asked to the floor.

What Olette said was true. What kind of a thief can steal those and the word? Obviously not Seifer. Even with his usual swiftness, stealing the word was something he couldn't accomplish. Heck, no one could pull a trick like that off. Unless it was someone that wasn't from Twilight Town, right? It sounded logical enough.

Roxas looked up from the ground and turned to face the confused trio. "We could try asking around town. Maybe someone on the street saw the thief."

"It's worth a shot..." Pence said, a bit uneasily, and wrapped the strap of the camera around his neck.

"Well, alright. Time for some re-con." Without hesitation (he was like that) Hayner darted for the exit with Pence and Olette tagging along behind him like two obedient puppies running after their master. Roxas waited until they all left before following. He wasn't sure why he waited...something was holding him back; holding him by a string. But what? His eyesight was beginning to become blurred with only the faintest rays of white light peeking through the darkness that was closing in on him fast. By the time he ran ahead two steps, he started to sway.

There was a blend of emotions rushing through his body at the time that it made him feel nauseated. He knew it, any minute now he would fall to the floor. Any time now he would lose control over himself and would run...run to where he had last seen those dark shadows. It made no sense why he wanted to be out in those dark streets than in the light room. The light...it didn't register to him...something about it didn't feel right. He swerved, he caught his balance, he swerved again, he was losing it...

"I'm...losing it...losing it...losing..."

xxXXxx

A scattered dream that's like a far off memory...

A far off memory that's like a scattered dream.

I want to line the pieces up...

Slightly above him was that boy...the one he had seen shivering at the very sight of darkness. He was the one that had been curious to know who he was and was relieved when his beaming eyes fell upon the light. How he amazed him...

He wished it could have been that way still. But, he knew: no matter how much he thought about Roxas, the kid wasn't coming back. That was the reality. Instead, it had to be the usual meetings with the members of the Organization; and he knew damn well that a majority of them were just as bored as he was when it came to the year long talks that The Superior had to give. After all: most of The Superior's little wannabes were dead so that meant that there was no one to listen to those rants. They were simply nothing but names written on little tombstones just outside the castle. No one cared about those writings anyway. Xemnas just felt that he should show off that he had reliable followers. That was how Axel saw it.

Lazily, he fell back into his seat, resting one arm on the arm rest while leaving the other to support his head. They could have at least found someway to make the seats softer. He regretted getting to the meeting early. There was nothing to do but wait for what felt like six hours for everyone else to show up. For a while it was just him then Luxord came in, over sized playing cards in hand. All he said was 'hey' to him before he got in his seat and started shuffling the deck. Luxord always played some random card games with himself just before a meeting and occasionally started practicing up on a little poker while Xemnas wasn't looking. It was like living in a broken record: everything repeated.

Yeah...nothing to do but wait. Again, the stupid hangover wasn't helping. He regretted taking those bottles from Luxord's stash the other night. The man never got drunk. He wondered where all the alcohol in him went after the first three beers. It wasn't like the drinks did anything for him. So, what else was the beer good for? You can't just throw it away. Throw it in a fire and it'll burst on you. Might as well take care of it...and that's how it went.

He groaned lightly and started rubbing his temples with two fingers. The light in the room was starting to make polka-dots flash in his face. He started counting off the ones who had left the Order already, just to make time pass.

"Let's see...there's Vexen, heh, guilty for that...Lexeaus. Hm, then Zexion...he was sleep deprived. Ah...oh, yeah, Marluxia. He deserved it anyway; getting all those damn roses in my face. And I think Larxene was the only one left...too bad; girl had spunk."

"What're you going on about down there?"

Axel looked up from his lap and directed his eyes to Luxord who was still flipping through his deck of cards; his hood pulled over his face. He rolled his eyes and slumped back again.

"Dead people," He muttered in reply.

Luxord let off a low chuckle. "Shame, isn't it? Poor things barely got the chance to even see Kingdom Hearts half complete." He placed a card on one of his arm rests, not taking a second to even face Axel. Anyway, Axel didn't expect Luxord to bother. It was just another life lost to everyone in the Organization. It was like stepping on an ant. Once it happened, it was just 'oh, too bad' and life continued. As he said before, all Nobodies cared for no one...it was just, well, he had a hard time believing it. He was the only one who had a hard time believing it. He didn't think he ever would.

"It'll happen; sooner or later it'll happen...man, where is everyone?"

"What's that?" Luxord asked half monotonously and half with interest. "What'll happen sooner or later?"

"Don't you get it? We'll all eventually leave the Organization. Doesn't anybody here get it? Ugh, how much longer is this gonna take?"

Luxord shrugged and looked away from his cards in boredom. "Guess not, considering that there's really no one here to accept anything."

Axel ended their conversation after that. He already hated having talks that when he mentioned 'anybody' they'd reply with 'excuse, me, it's nobody'. It was all too familiar and all too corny to deal with. But, it was true. Sooner or later the Organization would die down until there was nothing. Lazily he began tapping the edge of the arm rest and scanned the room once, twice, even three times. Of all places to be...why did this have to be one of them?

"Ignorant little bastards," He hissed while scooting to the front of the seat. "Look, you wait here all you want, man. But I'm not waiting another second for the rest of them to show up."

"I wouldn't do..."

Axel raised a hand and turned his head sharply to the side. "Just tell them I died in a pit. They'll believe anything." Without another word, he positioned himself for a jump. He had to get out of this room. Any sign of light was too much. Besides: being in this room, staring at that symbol on the floor, knowing that there was always going to be an empty chair above him...that was murder. He could barely even glance at that chair. Who knows what would happen if he did? If Luxord hadn't been there, then maybe, just maybe he would have let something go. Stupid alcohol. "See ya..."

"Axel."

Axel froze only seconds before starting his fall. He had to pull himself back up a bit before gravity took over. In that one second, his body became nearly paralyzed and his eyes, for some awkward reason, refused to pull away from the floor. Each time he heard that voice, it was like his head took over; that was a bad thing. Some sort of mind control he guessed.

"It would be best if everyone stayed put and actually participated in a meeting." Following the voice was a familiar sound of darkness: something unknown and normally not belonging to the real world. But, for whatever reason, Axel knew how it sounded like. Cautiously, he turned his head to the left and locked eyes with those belonging to The Superior. He found it weird that he wore his hood down. On any other meeting, Xemnas would hide his face, always mentioning how the sight of light nearly blinded him.

A few seconds passed before Axel pulled away from Xemnas' stare and pushed back into the chair. Why, for god's sake, couldn't he just leave? By the time Xemnas looked away, he sighed deeply in disappointment in himself. He never used to act like this before. And he thought it was Zexion who acted the most anti-social. This would definitely ruin his reputation in the Organization now...more like what was left of the Organization.

All that was left were eight members; all of them eventually revealing themselves in the bright room from behind shady walls of empty darkness. He couldn't recognize any of them, considering that their faces were hidden. He thought of hiding like the rest of them. The presence of light nearly made him sick and, still, he didn't know why. After all, neither of them cared who was who. The only important thing were the words and ideas contributed to the conversations. He grew even more bored just thinking about it.

One of the last ones to arrive, as usual, finally appeared in the seat directly across from Axel. They inched up to the front of the seat, rather girly-like, and rested their head in their hands. Axel could already tell this was going to be another long one. Above him to the left, Luxord kept his cards open before him in his lap, half paying attention and half concentrating on where to place the King of Hearts.

With everyone together, the room fell silent. Even more silent than when it was just Axel and Luxord. Only the occasional tinkling of silver chains and shifting fabric drifted in the air for seconds at a time. In a way, he felt like a human, showing his face in this room. Just so he could stop himself from thinking about it anymore, Axel reached behind him and pulled the black hood over his head. Cold darkness surrounded him and, unlike before, he didn't feel much different; just less embarrassed.

"So," Xemnas began, deeply and a bit harshly, "tell me again why we are together as an Organization?" He had his arms crossed over his chest while he sat at a higher level than everyone else. Anyone could tell he was powerful and even his seating spot boasted it. He began scanning the room in an eerie silence which made the member seated ahead of Axel flinch uneasily in their chair.

"Eh, uhm..." They stumbled, searching left and right, up and down for someone that would hopefully answer for him.

"I wasn't asking you directly, Demyx..." Xemnas said sternly, glaring down at Demyx with a look like he was out to kill.

Defeated, Demyx shrunk back in his chair, letting off a few stray growls when someone beside him snickered. Axel always knew he was a nut.

"The reason is because we want to regain what we once lost, correct?" He paused and started again, "So, in order for that to be accomplished, we must overtake Kingdom Hearts. That has forever been our goal. But..." In slight thought, he started tapping the end of his arm rest before saying, "But...you should all remember that one member that decided he was finished with searching. You remember, right?"

While everyone else quickly answered, either by scoffing, snickering or carrying out a short conversation about it with someone else, Axel sat quietly and impatiently, refusing to answer. Of course he knew. It was all too familiar. He casually glanced around the room, trying not to move his head all too much to make sure he wouldn't be too obvious. Everyone else sure looked unaffected.

Feeling strangely depressed again, Axel rested his head in one of his hands and took in deep breaths. "Just calm down...calm down."

Xemnas noticed this and grinned, which he rarely did. A small spark glistened in both of his amber eyes when he stared down at Axel. Even with his hood hiding him away, Axel was the easiest to find right now. It just made his job as leader even easier.

"Well, you don't really have to worry about that," He interrupted, raising a single hand to end the gossip chain, "I've been keeping an eye on that boy...he's not what you'd expect from a Nobody."

Suddenly, Axel perked up. He's been spying on him? He knew where he was? He really knew how he was? Where? Where? Axel's headache just got up and left then and there. That's it. Just like that. This could be the first meeting he would actually pay attention to.

Xemnas' smile widened and curved and a few of the other members moved back a few inches. It was that scary to see a guy like him smile. This was definitely one of Xemnas' 'happier' days. But Axel just sat there, staring...waiting.

"But, that's all about to change. Yes, he betrayed and yes, punishment is normally the outcome of that."

Axel lightly cringed at the mentioning of 'punishment'. He knew about that pretty well even if he had only been with the Organization for a little while. Actually, he had to perform it on a member before. But that was different. He didn't even like Vexen. The guy deserved what he got. But, this, this was beyond all that. He just had this bad feeling inside him...

"You taught him all well...it's showing a bit while he's holding out there in that town."

"Damn right we taught that kid well!" Someone yelled out confidently from Axel's right.

"You'd better shut up if you know what's good for you," Axel hissed, not bothering to turn his head to talk to them straight.

They scoffed. "As if. I'm just telling all of you. That kid took up a hell of a lot of my time just so I could teach him right. I even had to tolerate a few cuts a bruises after teaching him how to avoid a few little gunshots, you know?"

"That's enough, Xigbar," Xemnas ended him right there. If Xemnas had been any old person, chances were that Xigbar would go on forever. That was how ignorant he was. Instead, since Xemnas would have likely bitten his head off, Xigbar shut himself up and slouched back into the chair.

"Going back to that town...it'll take some extra effort and maybe even a little bit of fighting...but, regardless, we're going to pull him out. No exceptions."

The gossiping started up again but this time it was at a much higher level. Axel could almost hear what someone was saying from all across the room. Of course it was easy to hear Demyx, though. The guy had the highest voice you could ever think of. When he laughed it always stood out in a group 'manical laugh moment' since he sounded more like a thirteen year old kid than a heartless member of the Organization.

Axel's palms started getting twitchy and he soon found himself swinging his feet in midair. Alright, so things were getting exciting...they were going to get him back. They really were...he couldn't have been dreaming, right? No...everything felt and sounded too real. Damn, he had to know, he had to know!

"Since when do you go easy on the new people? You didn't even think twice when Marluxia..."

"Don't bring up Marluxia to me again. He was a different case." Xemnas waved a hand across his face as if the conversation was nothing.

Luxord, the one who started the talking, became quiet again and peered down at his cards before he got caught up in another conversation. That was new. Luxord wasn't paying attention to his poker game as much...huh, so maybe people did care...what was he saying? What a joke. He was a in a room filled with actors.

The talking felt like it went on forever. Axel's patience was growing short. So short that he thought he could just yell out for everyone to shut their mouths. "Damn...he knows where he is..." He stared up at Xemnas who was staring back at him. He turned away instantly. "Great, now he's looking at me. What does he want me to do? Laugh about it? Come on, shut them up and get on with the...!"

"Axel."

It was like a short breeze flew into the room and stole the voices away. It happened so quick that Axel wasn't even sure if there was a certain time to record it. Cautiously, he only moved his eyes up toward where he heard Xemnas' voice. The weight of everyone else's eyes falling on him added to the pressure. He tried not to show it though. "Keep that reputation...keep it."

Just by staring into that man's eyes gave Axel the impression that something was going on through his head. And whatever that something was...he knew it wasn't good; at least for him.

"Seeing as you were the one that first found him..." He took a second to stare at the ceiling before continuing, "...it would only be fair that you be the one that...takes him back."

"Take him...back? What're you...?" Axel paused.

"You know, go into that town and convince him to come back to the Organization. The case of number thirteen leaving is different than everyone else."

"How different?" Xigbar asked.

"If we leave him be, our chances of taking over Kingdom Hearts will deteriorate. I know it. Soon he will face with his other half and that will be the end of it. Not even all of us will be able to take on a completed keyblade master."

"'Completed keyblade master'? What the hell does he mean by that?" Axel shook his head. Now that he thought about it, it didn't matter. All that mattered was what Xemnas had said earlier. He wasn't about to lead away from that conversation. "What about the town? How are we doing this?" He asked edgily.

Xemnas' little smirk wasn't rubbing off his face. In fact, every time Axel reacted to something just made it widen. Something was definitely going through in his head...but was it a good thing? "Oh no, Axel. Not 'we'. You." Slowly, he pointed a gloved finger down at Axel's body. That just made everything worse.

"Uh...huh? What? Why me?"

"Why you?" Xemnas scoffed while rolling his eyes, "You're one to be trusted, Axel. It's because of you that we were able to get rid of the traitors in the Organization. Hadn't it been for you, those idiots would still be alive and would be plotting to destroy each and every one of us."

While he was being spoken to, Axel started surveying the room at the empty chairs above and below where he sat. Those were the places where they used to sit. Truthfully, he didn't miss them. It was so easy to throw a weapon; to stare them down while they began fading away...it was that easy to kill. Kill...

"The point I'm trying to get at is that, because you always follow orders and carrying them out as instructed, it's only a reasonable order to have you go and bring back number thirteen, be he conscious or not."

The room just then began humming with scattered words. Axel just stared...and thought thoughts that weren't even complete. He wondered if that was even part of being a Nobody. Was everything really incomplete? True, that was another part of his reputation: an obedient dog at the right hand of the Superior. Sometimes he hated that he had to be so persistent when it came to working whether it be filing paperwork or destroying a traitor. Then again, it's what he always was...even before he was born. It was why he was a human form of a Nobody...his past heart was that strong.

His chest suddenly stared hurting when he thought about hearts. He swore that he used to have one...actually, he knew it was still out there somewhere...where ever this town was, it was there. He just had to find it.

"So, it's decided then."

Axel looked back up at Xemnas. Decided...he was partly decided. He was eager about it while at the same time just flat out depressed. Then, without thinking straight, he nodded in reply to which everyone else started snickering about. God, he hated them.

"Good. It's simple. He's not as powerful as he used to be so this should be rather easy. Find the perfect time to hack into the programmed town where he is. You'll need this to do it." Quickly, Xemnas reached into his pocket and retrieved a silver card which he threw down toward Axel.

Axel caught it swiftly between two fingers and stared down at it. It looked like it was made directly from a blade.

"That's a virus card. Using the real town's computer system, place the card into the drive and wait for the virus to travel through the computer. Some sort of message should appear once it's done. That's when you'll know when to teleport yourself into the programmed town. Just know that it'll only take a matter of minutes for DiZ to find you out so be quick about it."

"Where will he be?" Axel asked, trying his best to steer away from sounding too excited about it.

Xemnas shook his head. "That I don't know exactly. Be smart about it and use the Nobodies to sniff him out. But when you find him, make sure you wait for the virus to freeze all moving data in the program before meeting him face to face. Even though those people are nothing but data, it's easy to wreak havoc if they see you."

"What am I supposed to do when I see him? W-well, y'know...how do I convince him and all...?"

"Be creative. I'm sure there are many things you could do. Just don't be stupid about it. Fight him if you have to. Remember when I said to bring him back conscious or not. Use some sort of force. It won't matter. But don't waste time and go easy on him. It's only a matter of time before he'll be able to see his other half."

"Is that it?"

Xemnas took a second to think before replying, "Do anything you can to remind him of us...even do something to remind yourself of him. It could help when you need to strategize. After it's all done, bring the boy directly to me when you've got him. We'll see what we can do about his memories..."

Just the way he said it...he sounded so uncaring. It was almost like this job was nothing at all. If Axel couldn't bring him back, would that even matter? Still, this was an opportunity to bring him back. An opportunity to see him. He'd be back...here. He had to use force...he wasn't sure if he could do it. When he sat quietly, holding the silver card in his lap, Xemnas spoke again.

"If you come back empty handed I'll have to send someone else to do it for you. I might just tell that new person to really kill him if I have to."

Axel's eyes widened under the darkness of his hood. He tried not to overreact and instead nodded softly. He still wasn't sure. He was almost shaking. He had to do this and do it right. He wasn't about to let him die because of a stupid action.

"Don't disappoint me...you're all dismissed."

In merely a second, the sound of darkness returned and all around the room the members were disappearing into darkness. Axel never knew where they went or what they did when they disappeared. Everyone mostly kept to themselves. He hadn't realized how much of a 'brotherhood' this Organization was until now. Above him, Xemnas had pulled on his hood and was beginning to dismiss himself. While he took another moment to glare down at Axel, the sound of his laughter could be hardly distinguishable from the darkness he was leaving in. Axel sighed when he left; feeling like a weight was just lifted from his shoulders. Without that man staring at him it made the world easier.

He reached up and pulled the hood away from his face. Being alone in the room was, in a way, comforting. But he was still alone. Normally, he would have been long gone by now, not bothering to stop for anything until the work was done. It just felt right to wait before carrying out this particular order. Slightly frustrated, Axel rubbed his forehead and sadly stared down in his lap. He was about to look up but decided against it, remembering that a certain empty chair was still there.

"Why am I doing this?" He groaned helplessly.

"Oh, forgot to mention, Axel!"

Axel abruptly looked up from his lap to his left where he heard Luxord's voice again. "What? Aren't you gone yet?"

Luxord, who was standing in his chair while shuffling his cards, laughed with his head held up. "You forgot to mention someone from that little list you were compiling earlier."

"Oh, yeah? Who's that?" Axel really couldn't care less. Who? He thought he mentioned everyone that was gone, right?

Luxord shook his head and reached for a card in the middle of his deck. He took it between two fingers and flung it toward Axel the same way Xemnas had earlier. Axel caught it a bit clumsily and flipped it over. At first he thought it was a card he was holding...

"Roxas!" Folding up the deck, Luxord wrapped himself in darkness and soon was gone from the room. Axel was finally alone...and he hated it.

Cautiously, Axel's eyes directed to what he thought was an ordinary playing card from Luxord. Instead, it was a photo...a photo of Roxas. But not just Roxas. He was standing in front of a gate with three other kids about his age. They were all smiling under the lazy orange glow of the sun...even Roxas was smiling...he really was. Axel wondered if this was what Roxas looked like now. He wondered if this was where he liked to be. He was smiling after all. Something about it made Axel's insides turn.

But even though the picture was hard to look at, he couldn't get out of it. He just felt like he had to be there too.

He was sure about it...he would be in that picture too. He was that close to getting there.

Yours and mine...

-collapses- ah...my fingers...they burrrrrn! --runs around maniacally-
that...and my butt. oh, it hurts so badly...i've been sitting here in bed for almost two hours writing! wah!
i feel sorry for my period button...i have too many '...' in my stories and for that i will be sued by society...then again maybe not! ...-sued- oh...-sued-
i hope you guys enjoyed this and if you didn't, SPORK-ME. seriously, spork me, shoot me! -hides- don't shoot me!
i really missed the akurokuness so i got all mushy over photos and memories...aw, poetic. X3

i promise to update as best i can! even if i've lost readers! i have hope! BELIEVE IT! ...oh, crap...narutard moment there...-shot-

now i've caused a spork war DX
kokoro77