Axel angrily threw himself on the bed that he had to provide on his own earlier. Surveying the empty space, he searched for a way to vent out his anger that wished to be directed at its main target: Larxene. Nearly growling, he summoned his chakrams, and was pleased when he found out he still had them; after all, they were a part of him, as was the fire that licked his face lovingly.
Idly, he recalled the events since he had arrived in this place. Shortly after his little spat with Larxene, Xigbar had arrived, Luxord and then Saix following suit. They had all needed and received the same explanation Axel himself had gotten, but with less hostility. They also reported their last moments before transisting. Apparently, Sora was storming his way through the Castle in the living realm, slaying the members who stood in his way. Axel grinned, knowing that he was the cause of all this; he had saved the boy from the platoon of Nobodies back in the Betwixt and Between, after all.
Lacing his fingers through his mess of hair, he became aware of a glow that creeped through his bedroom window. Warily watching the alien substance, he realized the glow was growing larger until something he had always yearned to see floated into his room and onto his chest.
The heart pressed itself into his bare chest until it seemed to dissolve into his being. Axel gasped raggedly; the whirl of emotions the thing contained came at a rush to him: happiness, sadness, guilt, passion, and many more rampaged through his soul, tearing through him. Gripping his bedsheets and shutting his eyes, Axel grit his teeth together in endurance to the change of his very being.
It happened as swiftly as it began. The pain vanished instantly, and Axel's eyes snapped open, a bead a sweat trickling down his forehead. Throwing on his coat uniform, he rushed through a portal and into the meeting chamber, where he had a...feeling that everybody would be gathering there for some reason unknown as of yet to him.
Larxene rose up sharply after the heart fused into her, her chest heaving and her slender body trembling. Looking around wildly, she wondered furiously how something like this had occurred. Her vital organ heart beat wildly, a function she was used to; they were, in a sense, living beings, were they not? Therefore vital organs and the like were needed to keep them alive, much like a true person. They were empty shells in the fact that they had been devoid of emotions, simply going on without feeling.
The Savage Nymph threw her legs over her bed and rose up. As she was making her way to her open portal, she briefly wondered if a similar phenomenon had happened to the other members. Walking through, she figured there was only one way to find out.
The Flurry Of Dancing Flames stared up at the highest chair, which had belonged to the Superior in the other realm. Now, it was occupied. This was the same Superior, the same Xemnas, but he did not seem to appear angry or even display a hint of remorse that he, too, had been killed by the Keyblade Wielder, Sora. Instead, he looked as if he had a feeling of bliss upon him.
From his seat, Axel leaned forward to hear what Xemnas had to say.
"My Organization," he addressed, raising his arms. "It is with great joy that I find you here in this realm of darkness. This realm that not even the Keyblade Wielder himself can reach."
Many members, particularly the higher-ups and Saix, murmured greetings and concurrences.
Yet one question was nagging at the backs of all their minds. It was Demyx who voiced this inquire. "Superior?" he asked tentatively. "Did something happen to have us get our hearts back?"
Xemnas looked down upon the Melodious Nocturne, his orange eyes glittering with praise at the younger man's intelligent question. "I have a hypothesis," the Superior began. "Shortly before I fought the Keyblade Wielder, Kingdom Hearts was destroyed by my former mentor." He surveyed the intrigued gazes of his higher-ups before continuing. "Every single heart fell down to the City, and Nobody after Nobody swarmed to retrieve a heart and then some. In my battle against the heroes from the realm of light, the City was destroyed, along with all the Nobodies, who did not have a chance to escape, as the destruction was so devastating and unexpected."
Zexion murmured, "And so the Nobodies naturally winded up here, as well." He nodded to himself in understanding, his sharp mind already grasping the concept of where the Superior was headed with his hypothesis.
Xemnas went on. "And so many Heartless have been slain by Wielders that, for all we know, our hearts could have been sent to Kingdom Hearts before we had even established our home in the World That Never Was."
"Yes," Vexen breathed in agreement. "That would have made the hearts unable to come back out of Kingdom Hearts, since so many other hearts would have kept the individual one inside!"
The Superior nodded at the Chilly Academic. "And now that the Nobodies, with our hearts in some of them, reached this realm--"
"Our hearts automatically migrated to their true vessels," Luxord finished, flipping through his cards.
"Yes," Xemnas concluded, seating himself once more.
Axel walked through the silent hallways, no particular direction in mind. His ears alertly perked when he heard sharp clicks coming down from the direction he was heading in. His eyes narrowed to slits when he realized it was Larxene. Actual anger boiled inside Axel from when the woman had challenged him about his honor. What does she know about honor?! he wondered vehemently. SHE'S the one who turned her back on us and plotted a rebellion! Tightly clenching his fists to his sides, his jaw twitched with the hungry fantasy of literally beating a lesson of his own into her...
She strode onward, too deep in her own brooding thoughts to notice Axel in front of her, as she was also looking down. Larxene took inevitable notice when she felt hands clamp around her elbows and slam her into the wall next to her. She gasped audibly as the back of her head collided with the wall. She glared furiously at Axel, the pyro reflecting her anger.
"You didn't have to call me out back there earlier!" he snarled, referring to the meeting upon his arrival.
Larxene struggled violently in his iron grip. "You know that what I said about you is true!" she spat, now glaring defiantly at him. "You turned your back and betrayed us! You turned on us! On me!" she unwittingly finished.
The silence that ensued brought about an uneasy stirring in the pyro. Axel felt a feeling wrench inside him, a feeling that made him think back to the events at Castle Oblivion. His memory forced him to recall how Larxene had reacted upon discovering his double-agent act on her and Marluxia. The Flurry Of Dancing Flames stretched his eyes wide at Larxene's narrowed ones, which resembled chips of blue ice. A mental brick came at his mind as he remembered that it was him whom she had placed all her trust in. Axel began to tremble, unused to the feelings that were bombarding him now. Presently, he was like a child when it came to emotions, and reacted just like one now.
He slid down, still gripping her arms, and looked up at her through blurry eyes. "Larxene," he choked, tightening his hands on hers now. Shaking furiously, he nuzzled his wet face into her left hand, strangled sobs rocking his body as well. "I'm...," he hugged her knees tightly. "I'm..." I don't know, he realized.
"Get up." Larxene's voice turned low and commanding, dripping with venom and completely lacking sympathy. Axel looked up at her through turmoil-filled eyes. "Get up," she repeated in the same tone. When Axel finally obeyed and shakily rose, she stared at him through unforgiving electric blue orbs.
"Larxene," he whispered, "I'm so sorry... I didn't..."
"You didn't what, Axel?" Larxene snapped. "You didn't put into consideration who you were betraying?! Whose hard-earned trust you were tossing away on a whim?!" Larxene awaited his predictable reaction.
Axel's eyes welled up with even more tears. "I...Oh, Larxene...!" he gasped raggedly. "Please forgive me! I find myself... I find myself..." he lowered his head in shame, unable to yet again find the proper word for the strange feeling tugging his heart.
"Could it be guilt, Axel?" she challenged, her voice like sweet venom. Axel looked at her when he heard that. Suddenly he ran to her, trying to embrace her. Disgusted, Larxene shoved him away, causing him to stumble due to the surge of lightning she sent to accompany the movement. "Don't touch me," she warned, her voice deadly and low, reminding Axel of a poisonous snake coiled to strike.
"Will you forgive me?" he repeated.
"No," she answered immediately. When Axel's eyes widened with spilt tears, she went on, "I'm not ready to forgive you. If you wish for my forgiveness and trust, you must redeem yourself to me."
"How?!" Axel wailed.
Larxene slapped him then. "Get yourself together!" she spat scornfully. "You act like such a child! Are you so immature that you cry every time you don't get something you want?! If you want to redeem yourself to me, you must find your means of redemption on your own!"
Her boots made sharp clicks that reverberated along the empty hallways as she took her leave, resuming her walk to her destination. Axel was left barely standing, leaning against the wall, holding his stinging cheek, which was slick with tears.
A/N: Hmm-Hmm... What do you guys think about this one? If you guys think I made Axel out to be like a cry-baby in this chapter, keep in mind that his mentality is to be put into consideration. Axel isn't used to having a heart, and as such the emotions that fly at him for the first time are things he, well, isn't used to. Like a child, as I compared him to in this chapter, he will treat the emotion guilt as such when he realizes he isn't forgiven.
