He slept fitfully, twitching and muttering apologies in his dreams, which he could not recall when he awoke the next morning. He shot up with the icy, prickly feeling of fear still assaulting him, cold sweat dripping along his forehead. Panting, his wide eyes darted from one side of his room to the next, awaiting some possible enemy. When the silence still stretched on, Axel sighed raggedly before putting his face in his hands as he recalled yesterday's events.

Sometimes, Axel thought, it would be much better to forget. But where would one be if they could simply forget what they wanted to forget, and remember what they wanted to remember? Axel shook his head at his childish wish to forget; he was proving Larxene's statement, about him being an immature child. Slowly, he rose from his soft bed, seeing that there was no point in trying to sleep anymore.

Now, as he ran his hand through his hair in the shower, he leaned against the hot wall, steam covering his bathroom. "Larxene," he murmured sadly over and over again, recalling her words in his mind. He wanted so bad to make things right between them again; he wanted to be her trusted best friend again; he wanted her companionship; he wanted...her.

Drawing a shaky breath, Axel finished his wash and emerged from the shower, wrapping a towel around his thin waist. "How?" he muttered aloud to himself.


"Words must be healed with words, Axel," Larxene growled to him. "Actions must be healed with actions. That is all I will tell you." The pyro had intercepted her in the Library, murmuring an apology to her, looking her straight in her eyes. Larxene secretly gave him a tiny scrap of credit for doing that, but it was nowhere near the beginning of his redemption. "You can apologize to me all you want, but until I see you actually proving your apologies, I won't listen."

Axel's shoulders sagged, his chin sank to his chest, making his gaze meet the floor. The situation seemed hopeless, but he wanted her to trust him again, thus he trudged on in this whole thing. "I'm..." he stopped, realizing he was automatically attempting another apology. "Nevermind, Larxene. I understand. Can I... do anything for you...?"

"Yes," Larxene answered. "You can figure it out on your own. That's what I want you to do." She waited until Axel raised his head and looked at her before turning to dive deeper into the Library.

Axel could only stare at her disappearing form, rooted to the spot by guilt and anguish. His heart ached to weep, but he realized that crying was not going to make Larxene forgive him any faster.

If she would ever forgive him at all.

This thought scared the normally fearless Flurry Of Dancing Flames. Axel, the one who charged ravenously into battle; Axel, the one who purposefully provoked the wrath of members such as Saix and Xaldin; Axel, the one who bravely threw everything away to rescue his best friend Roxas.

What had that last part gotten him? It got him in this place, that's what it got him. Axel frowned ruefully at the thought, yet knew that deep in his heart and gut that he would not have things any other way. He had been a loyal friend to that boy to the end. Could he have said as much for Larxene? Could he have done as much? Clenching his fists angrily, he walked through a portal to the City.


Larxene rested on the couch and leafed through her newly found book, deeply engrossed in the subject, when she heard a small throat clearing. Looking up sharply, expecting it to be Axel, she was vaguely surprised to find Zexion standing in front of her. "Can I help you?" she asked steadily.

Zexion said nothing, only sat on the floor into a crouch next to her face. "No, not really," he sighed, sitting comfortably now. "Just wanted to see what you were up to." When Larxene gave a light rumble within her chest, the Cloaked Schemer turned his head sideways to her. "Heard your little talk with Axel," he whispered, knowing she would not take kindly to an unnecessarily raised voice while she was reading.

"Did you now?" Larxene said quietly in fake astonishment.

"Yes, and I must say you're giving him what he deserves. It's about time somebody gave him a hit to the head about his loyalty hoppings."

Larxene stiffened as he finished.

"Larxene?" Zexion asked with uncharacteristic concern; possibly a personality trait his Somebody had once been graced with.

"What, Zexion?" Larxene asked warily.

"He really hurt you, didn't he?" His silver-blue eye glittered solemnly.

Larxene drew a shuddering breath, closing her book as well as her eyes. It seemed like an eternity before the Not-So-Savage Nymph replied quietly: "Yes. Yes, he did."

"And you refuse to forgive him?" Zexion prompted softly in a tone that Larxene found strangely comforting.

Nodding, she said, "I want to forgive him. So bad that it hurts. But I can't; not now, anyway. I have to see if I can trust him again. I want to see how far he will go to seek forgiveness. I want to see how far he will go to redeem himself." The way she was breaking down frightened her; did she really want to be able trust him this much? Had she really valued him as much as her heart said she did?

Her thoughts were confirmed when a small tear slid down her cheek.

"Larxene?" Zexion inquired, faintly alarmed. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he wiped the tear away with a slender index finger. "Do you want to see if you can trust him?"

Larxene looked up at the young man whom she had realized was a friend. "More than anything," she murmured through glazed cerulean eyes.

"Watch his actions around you," Zexion explained calmly, "you'll know what to look for. Look at him; see if there is any desire for forgiveness or any want for redemption. And if he strives to prove himself to you, you'll know that eventually he will succeed."

Larxene nodded, wishing she could allow her tears to cascade down her cheeks, but her pride would not have it.


Idly traversing the desolate streets of the City, Axel purposely made his path cross into puddles, the splash echoing strangely among the many building walls. His ears perked at the sight of a lone Heartless, a Shadow to be precise. Axel's head tilted to the side, knowing that Shadows almost always traveled in groups. This one seemed to be alone, yet Axel knew the others to be hiding, lurking around in the mottled shadows somewhere.

Yet, his shoulders remained relaxed; Heartless did not attack a heartless being unless provoked. Oh wait, he did have a heart now...

The Shadow looked as if it realized this as soon as Axel did. Countless Shadows leaped from the darkness with jaws agape to reveal jagged fangs, stopping at Axel's feet just before he summoned a fire wall, burning the ones closest to him. Dodging the Shadows that flew at him from behind, he turned in an agile fashion and swung his chakrams at the enemies, the weapons slicing through the dark creatures, which in turn evaporated into wisps of darkness.

A shrill and commanding whistle tore through the disrupted night air, stopping the Heartless in their tracks. A hooded figure walked steadily toward the wary creatures, the Shadows obediently calm and still. "Enough," a male voice told them quietly. "Be gone now."

The Heartless crawled along the ground and to the shadows once more. Axel calmly anticipated for the person to reveal himself. When the figure removed his hood, Axel spluttered, "Demyx?!"

The Melodious Nocturne blinked. "You act as if you didn't know I was here in this realm," he replied, a note a humor sprinkled in his voice.

"It's not that," Axel replied dryly. "It's the fact that you weren't acting like such a chickenshit for once."

To Demyx's credit, he didn't flinch. "At least I had enough of a conscious to come help you out when you needed it," he said quietly.

"I didn't need your help," Axel growled.

"True," Demyx conceded, "but you also didn't need to fight in the first place. They wouldn't have attacked you, you know. I saw what they did before you attacked them."

"Are you saying I started it?!"

Demyx nodded knowingly. "They sensed that you had a heart, and as such they went for you. But, seeing as you are still one of the dark, they stopped at your feet. In that split second you attacked them, and predictably they retaliated." His eyes glittered. Demyx, like everyone else, was like his element. On the surface he seemed like a shallow boy who had a cowardice streak that ran long. But going much deeper into his depths, one would be able to see his knowledge and understanding; his more serious personality. Water, indeed.

Axel bristled. "You don't have to sound patronizing!" he snarled, turning on his heel to swiftly walk through a portal, leaving behind a remorseful Demyx.


The knock on her door distracted the Nymph from her bedsheet wrenching. Letting go of her sheets, she called, "Come in."

Slowly, the door opened, and from that action alone Larxene could tell it was Axel on the other side. When the pyro indeed walked in, he looked rather ruffled, as if he had just emerged from a fight of sorts. "Can I come in?" he asked slowly, looking about her room; anywhere, actually, except at her.

"You're already in," she answered testily.

Axel flinched at her tone. "Right. But I meant if I could...stay here a while with you? Please? I won't do anything..."

Larxene seemed to think hard on this decision, when her mind was screaming for him to stay with her. Taking a short breath, she responded.

"Fine."


A/N: You know, Demyx is always running away from a kitten, you know. Every member has a personality that reflects their element. Xigbar: space. He's rather lofty and rarely takes things seriously. Xaldin: wind. One who goes about his own way of following orders. Vexen: ice. A cold personality, you can figure. Lexaeus: earth. level-headed and... well, down to earth. Zexion: illusions and limited shape-shifting. He has many masks of personalities, sneaky to one person, snarky with another, and a bit friendly and close to another. Saix: moon. One with a personality that seems to wane and wax like the moon itself. He'll be calm one time, irritable and snappy the next. Axel: fire. One who, like fire, needs to be nurtured and kept burning. But also one who leaps into things with an outgoing or explosive performance. Demyx: water. I explained this in the chapter. Luxord: time. Takes his time and thus has gathered strategic thinking and conduct. Marluxia: nature. He seems to be like a rose, a lily, a violet. But he also has the sides of that like deadly nightshade, and that his anger pierces like thorns and constricts like vines. Larxene: lightning. One who can instantaneously strike without warning, one who has deadly punishments for the luckless ones she has dazzled. Roxas: light. A shining one who breaks through others' hearts, Axel being an example.