Sorry it's been so long, people. My parents are being dumb, so I've had to use school computers… ick. Anyway, better late than never, right? I don't own any of these characters, except Bruixe. Enjoy.
Bruixe was out of bed and moving without any trace of grogginess the next morning, anxious to see Axel off. She blew past Demyx on her way to the computer room, arriving slightly out of breath a minute before he did.
"What, you couldn't have waited?" he muttered.
Axel was already near the data port, waiting. "Hey, you made it," he said casually as she approached him.
"'Course I did," she replied. "As if there was any doubt."
The entire Organization – well, what was left of them – was gathered in the tiny room, so she chose her words carefully. "Keep him safe," she whispered so only Axel could hear. Then, louder, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Is there anything you wouldn't do?" Axel wondered.
Bruixe smirked. "I can think of a few things."
"Barrier's down," Xigbar called.
"That's my cue," Axel said.
Xemnas's fingers flew over the keyboard, and Bruixe stepped back as the data port came to life.
Apprehension must have shown on her face, because Demyx laid a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "He'll be fine," her friend assured her.
Bruixe crossed her arms. "I should be with him.
"Axel can take care of himself," Demyx said, glancing around at their superiors. "No worries."
She turned to the computer rather than answer. The screen was divided in two – one side seemed to be from Roxas's perspective, the other from Axel's. They were in the alley, facing each other.
"Look at what it's come to," Axel said casually. "I've been given these icky orders to destroy you – if you refuse to come back with me."
Roxas took a tiny step back, hesitated. "We're – best friends, right?"
Stunned silence fell across the computer room.
"Sure…" Axel replied, confused. "But I'm not getting turned into a Dusk for…" Then reality hit. "Wait a sec! You remember now!?"
"Yeah," Roxas told him.
"Great!" the redhead half-shouted. "But, you know, gotta make sure and all. So, um… what's our boss's name?"
Roxas was silent.
Xaldin snorted softly. "The brat doesn't remember," he said. "He's bluffing."
Onscreen Axel seemed to realize the same thing. "Can't believe this," he said sadly, Nobodies springing to life around him.
"Fight him yourself, you coward," Saix muttered. Bruixe kept her eyes trained on the screen, careful not to show any irritation with the Diviner.
Roxas defeated the nobodies easily, but now Axel seemed to have regained his resolve. He leapt at Roxas, weapons raised.
Before he could strike the younger boy, however, the 'Axel' side of the screen shorted out, grey static replacing the image. On Roxas's screen, time seemed to have frozen. A booming voice called, "Roxas! To the mansion! The time has come!"
"No," Xemnas growled, typing commands, trying to counteract the time-stop program.
Run, Roxas, Bruixe willed her friend. Hurry. Get out of there. Don't fight.
By the time Roxas reached the woods, Xemnas had disabled the program. Axel's screen flickered back to life.
"The Roxas that I know is long gone," Axel muttered to himself. "Fine. I see how it is."
Meanwhile, Roxas ran straight to the white room of the mansion, and someone was waiting for him.
Bruixe stifled a gasp. Namine?! she thought angrily. What the hell… I go through all that to free her and she CAME BACK?!
But seeint the expression on the witch's face, the reason was clear. Namine had come back for Roxas. To help him.
Looks like we aren't the only ones who care about the kid, Bruixe realized.
The two were interrupted by Ansem the Wise, and then Bruixe's cloaked acquaintance.
"DiZ, we're out of time," 'Ansem' reported. "Too many Nobodies!"
Sure enough, on Axel's screen, the redhead was surrounded by Dusks, Assassins, and Creepers. He'd made it to the basement of the virtual mansion – Roxas would have to fight him to reach the pods, where he could exit the virtual world.
"Simply amazing, Roxas," Axel called as the boy came hurtling into the room. Telltale sparks danced around his head.
"Axel," Roxas said warily.
Axel's face was a mask of fury. "You really do remember me this time? I'm SO FLATTERED!" he roared, the room bursting into an inferno with the pyro's rage. "But you're too late!"
Roxas's expression changed to mirror Axel's, and there was a flash of light. When it faded, Roxas's customary Keyblades – Oathkeeper and Oblivion, he'd called them – had replaced the standard Kingdom Key.
This was no brainwashed, rookie Roxas. This was the real deal. Bruixe's hands flew to cover her mouth, silver eyes worried. She'd never seen Roxas bested… but then again, she'd never seen Axel this enraged.
"Two?" he spat, but crouched into a fighting stance. "Come here," he taunted softly. "I'll make it all stop."
Tension was thick in the computer room as the two battled furiously. All eyes were locked on the screen – all eyes, that is, except for Saix's, which were fixed on Bruixe's anxious expression.
Axel fought brilliantly, fueled by rage and hatred, but Roxas was not to be denied. Half of the screen wavered as Axel fell, weapons clattering to the floor, darkness swarming around him.
"No!" Bruixe shouted, slamming her fists against the computer. "Do something!"
Demyx grabbed her from behind, restraining her. "They can't," he told her. "Calm down, you'll make it worse."
"Axel," Roxas said quietly, stepping forward.
The redhead looked up, calmer now, his anger spent. "Let's meet again in the next life."
"Yeah," Roxas agreed. "I'll be waiting."
"Silly," Axel laughed halfheartedly. "Just because you have a next life…"
Axel's screen shorted out again as the data port flared to life. Bruixe broke free of Demyx's hold and was at Axel's side in an instant, catching her friend as he fell.
"He got me after all," he murmured weakly, eyes drooping closed.
"You idiot," she choked, but Axel was already unconscious. She shifted his arm over her shoulder, struggling with his weight, but Demyx came to her aid, supporting Axel's other side. Together they hauled Axel to the door.
"Wait," Saix ordered. "He needs to be interrogated –"
"You saw it yourself," Bruixe snapped over her shoulder. "Roxas beat him. You already know what happened."
"But –"
"It'll have to wait," she told him angrily. Truth be told, she couldn't care less about what Saix wanted. I may have lost Roxas, she thought stubbornly, but there's no way in hell I'm losing Axel, too.