Yeah...If there are typos, I'm sorry.

Chapter 14: Stories to Pass Time

Italicized: thoughts

The car came to a sudden halt, making everyone inside slam to one side. Riku glared at Axel, his expression practically asking what he was doing. Axel gave Riku an apologetic face and got out of the car. They were parked in the middle of a forest with nothing but dense trees and bushes. There wasn't even a sight of civilization. Riku got out and followed after Axel, leaving behind Leon and Cloud to watch the car. Riku finally caught up to Axel and grabbed him by the arm.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed out.

"Shh," quieted Axel as he pried away from Riku and squatted down, peering over a thick bush.

"What are you looking for?"

Riku squatted down next to Axel, starring at his face, trying to figure out what he was up to. Axel turned to look at him and grinned and then pointed at something. Riku followed Axel's finger and saw a house. He arched a brow at Axel, confused why there was a house in the middle of a forest.

"That's where they are keeping Roxas," answered Axel as he became serious, "I think it's Xigbar and Xaldin watching them."

"Them?" asked Riku.

"Yeah. A few weeks ago, two of our members conspired to overthrow the organization and take over. When our leader, Xemnas, found out, he had them captured and tortured. I don't even know if they're still alive or not."

"...I guess you guys wouldn't be considered Organization Thirteen. Not only did Roxas and you betrayed them, but two others."

"Yeah, well...Xemnas doesn't want people to know that we're broken up. If others knew about this, the organization just might fall apart."

"I see...So, what's the plan?"

"I've got bombs in the back trunk of the car-"

"Bombs? I don't think-"

"Who said it was going to be used now? We'll just have to sneak in and pass by Xigbar and Xaldin...Then again, those two would probably be hard to kill."

"Kill huh? You use the word like it's nothing."

"Well what do you want to do? Leave them alive so that they can come after us and kill us instead? Just so you know, this is Organization Thirteen we're talking about. Leave them alive and no doubt they'll come back for revenge and it's going to be pretty."

"Still, it's...murder."

"...They've killed many people already. Well, I guess I don't really have the right to say that since I did too...As well as Roxas."

Riku frowned at him and remained silent. The last part of Axel's sentence got him thinking about what will happen after they rescue Roxas. He knew they couldn't just leave the organization alive, but trying to get them locked up with only Cloud and Leon here...Really isn't going to help. And even if they did locked up, he knew that with no doubt, the organization would find a way to get out. Then it came to Roxas. If he was safe and he did get out, what will happen to him? Cloud and Leon, though they were in full support of Riku rescuing Roxas, Roxas was still apart of a criminal group and had even murdered someone. Everything became complicated, making Riku sigh in frustration. He didn't want Roxas to get locked up, but he couldn't just go against the law either. He ran his fingers through his hair and took another look at the house. He had to decide now because there wouldn't be any other chance. Time was ticking and Roxas was in trouble. I can't push this aside...Do I love Roxas enough to go against the law and even kill to save him...The answer was easy, because the moment the question popped into his head, he felt like it was a ridiculous question. Of course...I would do anything to save him...To have him by my side. Riku sighed and looked at Axel, giving a small nod.

"Okay...We'll have to plan out how to get inside...And get rid of them. I want Roxas to be safe," said Riku with determination.

Axel smiled and replied, "Good. We'll wait till it's night time. Xigbar and Aldin would most likely be asleep, because that's just how they are. It might be easier that way too. We'll sneak in and you can go find Roxas while the rest of us can take care of those two."

"But isn't going in at night a little to late?"

"Don't worry. They won't lay a finger on him. Last I heard, Xemnas made sure no one touched Roxas."

Riku nodded and they began heading back to the car. Axel told the plan to Cloud and Leon as Riku got into the passenger seat of the car. He watched as Cloud and Leon agreed to the idea and even discussed how they were going to take out Xigbar and Xaldin. Riku averted his eyes when Axel got into the driver seat and leaned back into it. He looked back outside and saw Cloud and Leon whispering to each other, probably considering what they will do when this is all over and what will happen to them if they're chief ever found out what they just did. He could see Cloud getting frustrated and Leon trying to calm him down. He couldn't help but smile when he saw how Cloud immediately calmed down when Leon hugged him.

"So those two are together," said Axel out of the blue.

Riku looked over to Axel and nodded while replying, "Yeah. They've been together since their high school years."

"That's long."

"Yeah...So, how long have you known Roxas?"

"Long. I met him when the organization first took him in. He was a quiet boy though. Never talked unless he was talked to. I was probably one of his first friends before the organization decided that Roxas had go to school so that he learned how to not be nervous when he was in public."

"Oh..."

"Want to hear Roxas' life story?"

"What? I mean...I don't really want to..."

"But you want to know him better don't you?"

"Well...Yeah..."

"Then I'm going to tell you...Roxas' family was poor, but they were happy. The medical bills for Roxas always had them stressed out, but they never once hated Roxas for it. But then, the medical bills became too much and they weren't making enough money. Roxas' father decided to take a loan from the organization because that was the easiest way out to pay for the bills. It was a few months later that the organization came back to their family and asked that they pay them back for the loan. They didn't have the money, so the organization gave them some time. When another four months pass and the organization came back, Roxas' family still didn't have the money. His parents finally said that they would give the organization Roxas as a loan. Roxas thought it was because of his heart condition, that his parents were giving him away. Don't them wrong, the parents loved Roxas with all their heart and giving him away was hard on them too. Anwyays, Roxas came into the organization when he was five and he hid his symptoms well. The organization thought the medical bills belonged to his mother, so they never once suspected Roxas to be the one with heart condition, which also explains why they never looked it up. When it was taking too long for the parents to pay them back, the organization started threatening them. It became too much for the parents and they killed themselves. The organization found them in the living room of their own house dead. They decided that since they were dead, they might as well train Roxas to become a member of the organization. It wasn't until Roxas was ten that they finally found out about Roxas' heart condition. Six years later, they decided that they had to find someone with a heart that Roxas was compatible with. Using blackmail, they got a doctor to search up every donor and Sora just happened to have the compatibility. They watched Sora's every movement and when they finally found him alone, they made their move. Roxas was one to never kill, so this was a...Big step for him...Xemnas decided that Roxas shouldn't remember this, just in case he decided to turn his back on the organization. So while Roxas took his medication for the heart, they also got the doctor to give him medication for the memory thing...That's how Roxas turned up as he is now...You can't really blame him."

Riku shook his head and frowned. He stared out the window with mixed feelings. He didn't know what to say so he decided that remaining silent was a better idea. Only after thirty minutes pass that Riku finally let out a sigh and looked back to Axel.

"I don't blame him..." muttered Riku, "How can I?"

Axel smiled and asked, "So, what about you?"

"What do mean?"

"What about your life?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because it's a good way to pass time."

"...My dad was a general for the army. He wanted me to become a soldier too and surpass him, but...Becoming a soldier wasn't something I wanted to do. I was more interested in music, but my dad said that music was only for weak men. I was forced into the military and many people expected me to do well because of my dad and since I've always been trained as a child, I did do well, but I hated it. It wasn't until I hooked up with a guy in the military that things finally got better...That is, until my dad found out. My dad forced the guy to leave and move away, in which he did because he didn't want to deal with my dad. I got a beating and was told that being gay was a bad thing. My dad and mom didn't want to believe that I was gay, but for all I know, since I was a kid, I've always liked boys. I tried to tell my dad to be more understanding, but he didn't want to listen to what I had to say. He sent me to a psychiatrist, believing that I was crazy. In the end, I told him that if he didn't accept me for who I am, he might as well just disown me and he did. He kicked me out of the house, even though my mom tried to stop him. I was happy to leave though. I didn't want to be in that household anymore. I ended up looking for Cid, an old friend of my dad's. I told him the situation and he said that he's help me. He said that my dad can be unreasonable sometimes and that I should give some time for him to think about it. I worked for Cid from time to time because I was thankful he helped me get a home and trying to help explain things to my dad. It was also thanks to Cid that I met Sora...My life turn out to be good, even with my broken family."

"I don't like your dad."

Riku chuckled and shrugged.

"I don't either..." said Riku as he stretched, "Anything else you want to hear about? Though, I don't know why I'm telling you."

"Because I make a perfect person to talk to," answered Axel with a teasing tone.

"Riiight...And I'm guessing Roxas told you everything too."

"He did. I'm actually quite jealous of you."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because...I knew Roxas before you, known him longer than you and yet, he loves you instead. Even though I had loved him longer than you did, he wanted to be with you..."

"Oh...Sorry..."

Riku looked away from Axel, uncomfortable where the discussion was going. He had no idea that Axel had feelings for Roxas and after hearing it, he didn't know what to do, but one thing was for sure, he wasn't going to give up Roxas just because Axel knew him longer.

"I...Won't take him away. I just...I just want Roxas to be happy," whispered Axel sadly.

Riku nodded, still not looking at Axel. He stared out into the forest, where it was beginning to darken. He took out his cell phone and looked at the time. It read five o' clock. It would be until another hour or two before it really got dark.

"So, tell me about Sora," said Axel.

"What?" asked Riku, a bit surprised that Axel would actually ask that question.

"Well, I never knew the guy and it looks like Roxas is torturing himself with his death and all, I wanted to know what he was like. So tell me...It will pass the time."

"I don't know..."

"Hey, let's just use this time to get to know each other. I have a feeling, we won't anytime soon. It's better to just not think about what we're going to do until it's time."

"...Okay...Sora...He was an orphan. He lost his parents in an accident. He was taken into an orphanage home and he was later adopted, but even though he had a nice family, Sora had friends that weren't so...well, good. They were street thugs and Sora was...I guess you can say, their little bitch. Excuse my language, but it's true. They got Sora to do everything for them and he listened, because they were his only friends. Some of them even made Sora sleep with them, though, I was sure that Sora knew what he was doing. Then one day, they told Sora to kill someone because they didn't like the guy...And that's where everything ended. Sora was carrying a knife that they had gotten for him. When he was about to stab the guy from behind, he was caught by Leon. Leon arrested Sora and called the family that took him in. When they found out, they almost didn't want Sora anymore, but Leon made sure that Sora would never do such a thing again. After that, Leon dropped Sora off back at his home and he ended up getting grounded. Leon would come by from time to time and talk to Sora, making sure he didn't get into trouble again. It was then that Leon brought Sora to where Cid worked and that's where he met Cloud and Cid. He changed after that. He began to respect his family and they were thankful to Leon, but Sora...He still considered himself an orphan because he never felt like he belonged in that family. He admitted that Leon, Cloud, and Cid were more of his family than the ones who adopted him. He began hanging out at the ice cream shop and then I met him. His adopted parents were more accepting of his sexual orientation, so that part he was lucky."

"Wow...He tried to kill someone."

"Yeah...Judging from his looks, you wouldn't expect him to actually try."

Axel smirked and nodded his head outside. It was dark now, dark enough to sneak inside. Riku nodded and got out of the car. He tapped on the roof of the car to get Cloud's and Leon's attention, who at the time, were busy kissing.

"I don't know how you two can do that at a time like this," mumbled Riku.

Leon and Cloud just smiled at him. Riku shook his head and looked to where the house was located and exhaled.

"It's about time," he said.

Leon and Cloud nodded at his words. Axel began walking ahead while they followed behind him. Riku could feel himself becoming nervous with every step they took. He knew what the plan was going to be, but he found that it was easier said than done. His brushed away the thought, trying to hold himself together. Now wasn't the time to start freaking out, because he needed to stay calm so no mistakes were going to be made...And he definitely didn't want Roxas to get hurt in the process.