CHAPTER FOUR

"Where were you?" The voice was cold, anger iced over from the boiling point it had peaked at so many hours ago.

Axel halted, head sinking, a glower springing to life across his face. He hunched over, hands digging deep into his pockets. He was tired, and sore, and cold. He just wanted to go to bed. "I've been around," he muttered, not turning to face the woman behind him.

"I know where you've been, Axel." She crossed the distance between them, seized his arm to jerk him around, violet eyes blazing. He met her gaze flatly.

"Kairi, get off me."

"The thing is, you were supposed to be back hours ago!"

He shook free of her grasp, glaring defensively. "Okay, so I hung around a little longer than I first planned. I'm just trying to be thorough, okay?"

Kairi stepped back, blinking, then frowned, baffled. "Do you – expect me to believe that?" She shook her head. "Axel, please – this is me, okay? Don't play dumb, because you know I don't buy that."

"Whatever you say, Kai." Axel rolled his eyes, moved his body in an echo of the motion by turning and walking away down the long hallway. The shorter girl had to run to catch up, red-wine hair glinting in the harsh overhead light.

"Axel, it's almost midnight." Her voice had taken on a pleading tone, as she jogged alongside his quick stride. She gripped his wrist, tugged on him, trying to slow down. "Why did you have to stay out so long? You know someone's going to notice, Axel!"

The redhead stopped with a sharp sigh, fixing her with an irritated look. "Kairi, seriously, there's nothing to worry about. There's nothing to notice, except that I'm obviously doing my best to pull this off."

She pushed in front of him, spread her arms to press her hands against each wall of the narrow corridor, blocking it off. "That's a lie," she stated, scowling. "You were trying to get close to Roxas again."

"Yeahhh…" He bent low, eyebrows raised, giving her a look like she was an idiot. "That's kind of the whole point of it all, Kairi dear."

She shook her head, despairingly. "It's not, and you know it." She met his gaze worriedly. "Why can't you just wait? It shouldn't be that long before he's out…"

Axel's head bowed, the frown in place acknowledging her point. "I know," he said softly, roughly. "But… I…"

"Axel, please." She placed a gentle hand on his forearm, squeezing lightly. Her wide eyes darted across his features, willing good sense into him. "If he's as anxious as you've said, it shouldn't be long at all… Until then, can't you – can't you just hold back? Just a little?"

"But… he likes me, Kai, I know he does…"

She touched his face, smiling slightly. "I'm sure he does. What's not to like? But – that won't do either of you any good if you get called off and replaced… Right?"

Axel sighed. "Yeah. I know."

"You've been watching him a long time, I know," the girl continued quietly. "But he's not going anywhere. Don't blow this one chance, okay, Axel? You don't want him getting attached to someone else, do you?"

"No!" The man's green eyes widened, he fervently shook his head. "I'd hate that!"

She straightened, gave a curt nod. "Then restrain yourself. It's all you can do." She stepped back, to let him pass. "Don't forget to set your watch, okay? And Axel – " The redhead turned questioningly, fingers already touching the sides of the timepiece. Kairi's eyes were hard. "If I ever find you've taken it off, I'll kill you. I really will."

Axel held her gaze for a long, disconcerted moment. "Sure, Kairi."

He quietly took himself off to bed, making certain to set his watch before falling asleep.

He thought of the blond, of the next day, and wondered if he'd really be able to keep all the promises he'd made.

.o.O.o.

Roxas had his alarm set for nine, but woke up two minutes beforehand, so as to not have to endure the hideous beeping that would come when it went off. Deactivating it, yawning widely, he shoved back the blankets and crawled out into the cool Saturday air.

Today was the first day of the project. He wondered how Hayner would react when he heard about Axel's idea… It's not like even Roxas had halfway liked it, before he mentioned the mansion, and Roxas was Axel's friend. But still, it was fun, and kind of nutty, and like the redhead said, at least they wouldn't be all cooped up reading library books. It was – interactive learning.

If you could call the pursuit of supernatural stupidity even vaguely educational.

Shivering in boxers and a t-shirt, he stumbled down the hall to have a hot shower, slumping against the tiles while the needles of water thrummed against him, steam swirling through his lungs. Hopping out, fresher now, hair curling slightly, he dried off, got dressed, and headed down for breakfast. Today was his mother's day off, so she had waffles waiting on the table for him. She sat on the opposite side, her own breakfast eaten, plate discarded to one side, jotting down a shopping list. "Morning, honey. Need anything from the store?" she asked distractedly.

Roxas sat, fork already digging into the latticed sweet bread as he said, "Mocha powder. I'm all out."

She lifted her head, nose scrunching. "You mean that nasty stuff you say tastes like coffee, but actually it tastes like… not-coffee?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Mom, eloquent as ever, yes, I want that stuff."

"You know, we have a percolator…"

"I like my instant mocha."

She shrugged, sucking in through her nose and sighing out through her mouth. "Fine, if my son wants his mocha, I guess he gets his mocha…"

"Thanks, mom." He was preoccupied with thoughts of the coming day, hoping he wouldn't have to spend too much time alone with Hayner… Just that thought made him want to cut his palms with his nails… This was his best friend – but Axel was his friend, too, and all he could think about was Hayner at the Usual Spot the other afternoon, asking why Roxas bothered with the redhead, asking, when no one was listening, why he didn't just ditch his new friend and come back to the old. Hayner didn't like Axel – he didn't want Roxas to, either.

Axel… again, Axel was right.

"…aren't you getting a little old for that sort of thing?"

Shouldn't they have got beyond this symbiotic sort of relationship by now? They were eighteen years old. They didn't need to love all the same stuff just to keep being best friends… But maybe the concept of 'best' friends was getting outdated now, too – why couldn't they just be close? Why couldn't – Roxas have a whole flock of close friends?

Why did it need to be status quo, day in, day out, in order to be okay?

"Honey?" A hand found his brow, testing for a temperature. His mother frowned. "You feel fine." She moved the cool, feminine hand to his cheek, cupping his face as she leaned over the table, scrutinising his expression. "You look troubled, honey. Is everything okay?"

"Mom…" Roxas stared down at the table. "What would you say if… I wanted to move out sometime? Out of home, I mean."

The hand snatched away. She was surprised, concerned. "Baby, you don't have to leave home until you're ready… and you're certainly not leaving until you're a legal adult."

"Why?" Roxas looked up at her, not feeling particularly rebellious or contentious – just wanting answers. "What's so wrong about me leaving? Leaving… Twilight Town?"

She was at a loss, shaking her head slowly. "Where's all this coming from, Roxas? Are you in some kind of trouble…?"

He looked back down, stabbing at his waffle with a frown. "No, mom. I'm not in trouble. It's okay, I was just… wondering."

She was silent for a while, watching her sun-kissed child pick at his food. "Are you seeing your friends today?"

"Of course. I always go out with them on Saturday, don't I?"

She frowned at the darkness lacing his tone. "Well… I'm going to the store now. I'll be sure to bring you home something, okay? I'll bring you something nice. And maybe tonight we can rent a movie, if you're home in time?" She stood, circling the table to stand behind him, small hands resting on his shoulders, bringing down a burden of guilt upon the blond. His eyes slipped shut, the fork sagging in his slackening fingers, as she bent and pecked him on the temple. He caught a whiff of her perfume… She smelled like mom. When had that become a stifling thing? And why did it make him want to bust out crying, and ask her to make things better?

"Okay, mom."

She sifted a hand through his hair, then left the room. A few minutes later, he heard her car pull out of the driveway. He sighed, slumping in his chair, tapping the fork against his plate, letting the belling noise ring through the room.

It wasn't long before Axel turned up, pressing the doorbell. Pulling on his shoes, tucking some money into his wallet and thrusting it into a deep pocket, Roxas hobbled over and opened the door. "Hey," he panted, struggling to do his laces while standing as straight as possible. Axel was amused.

"Good to see you're ready, Roxie."

"Hah! I could say the same for you! Who knew you'd actually be punctual?" He joined the redhead on the stoop, drawing the door shut and locking it, sliding the key into his back pocket.

"I'll have you know I'm very punctual, most of the time."

"Oh, really? I'll have to keep an eye on that, find out for myself."

They got walking towards town, side by side, hands in pockets. "So, how's the rest of your family dealing with the move?" Roxas hedged, glancing over at the redhead.

Axel smirked, looking down from his greater height. "They're doing fine, Roxas."

"Do you… have any siblings or anything?"

Axel sighed, raised his eyes upward. "I have a sister, younger than me by a couple years."

"Really?" Roxas perked up at the unexpected information. "Cute. What's her name?"

"Kairi."

"Kai – " Roxas swayed to a stop, frowning. His eyes squinted as he fought to – to remember? Did he remember…? "That name… sounds really familiar…"

Axel had stopped also, was watching him, almost warily. "Really? I guess. It's not the rarest of names around."

"It's not? It's not exactly what I'd call common."

Axel shrugged. "Who did you know by the name of Kairi? Old girlfriend or something?"

Roxas scowled suddenly, got walking again. "No. I haven't had any girlfriends before."

Axel grinned a little. "This would usually be the point where I teased you by asking about boyfriends, but I'm pretty sure you made that clear the other night."

Roxas lifted one shoulder uncomfortably. "It's not that – well, I'm just not …"

"Roxas, relax. It was a joke. By not teasing, I'm still teasing." He pulled a face, sticking out his tongue a little. "I just can't help myself."

"Asshole," Roxas muttered half-heartedly.

They got to the Usual Spot a few minutes after ten, to find the other three already assembled. Hayner's bright greeting withered upon seeing the redhead. "Oh, good," he said dryly. "You brought him."

Roxas glared, while Axel just laughed. "Aw, Blondie, I didn't know you'd miss me! I feel all special and goose-pimply inside."

"Hey, you guys," Pence welcomed warmly, throwing a cheery wave. Olette, sitting beside Hayner, was jigging her knees up and down, a satchel in her lap, looking excited.

"So, what's the big plan for the assignment?" she asked.

"Yeah," drawled Hayner. "Enlighten us, why don't you." He added aside to the others, "This ought to be good."

Axel was peering around interestedly at the cubby-like room, neck craned to look through the gaps in the tracks above them. "This place is so fucking cool…" Roxas shoved an elbow into his side, not without affection. "Ow, shit, Roxie… Oh, right." He straightened, cleared his throat. "You guys, er, ever heard of the seven wonders of Twilight Town? Cuz that's what we're doing. Most of it's over around the Sunset Station side, but there's a couple things over here…" He swung his gaze to Pence. "You've heard of it, haven't you Pence?"

Pence blinked, frowned, scratched at the forehead under the headband that kept his spiky brown bangs away from his eyes. "Actually… now that you mention it, I think I have heard of them. I – I thought it was just a dream, though…"

Hayner stuck his elbows on his knees, hands dangling between them, fixing his friend with a dubious look. "No kidding. You actually know what bean-pole's going on about? Because I have never heard of any wonders in Twilight Town, singular or plural."

"I guess you're just not as sharp as old Pence-y boy over there," Axel suggested brightly. "But then, you don't exactly have that whole 'I am the most colourful crayon in the box' look to you."

Hayner let out a threatening growl, while Roxas got frustrated. "Can you two please hold off for a while?" He poked Axel's flat stomach. "You, stop being a wiseass, and you," he whirled on Hayner with a glare, "stop being a jerk. Axel's here, get used to it. I'd have thought you'd be happier, there's less writing to do with an extra person, and it might be a different sort of assignment, but at least it'll be fun, right?"

"So, what, you're subscribing to bean-pole's 'Hayner's a fucking moron' attitude, now?" the other blond flared. Olette brought her feet stamping down, fingers digging into the satchel, a frown in place.

"Hayner, that's enough. Don't be so quick-tempered. Roxas wouldn't say that about you and you know it. He's your best friend!"

"Yeah? Lately, I've had to wonder!"

"Damn it, I'm sorry, okay?" Axel cut in sharply, holding a hand out in front of Roxas, as if such a gesture could stop the words from ever reaching him. "Jeeze, if I thought my being here was going to cause so much trouble between you, I'd…" He stopped, eyes slipping shut, mouth a thin line as he inhaled. "But I am here."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Roxas hesitantly touched the redhead's arm.

"…Axel…?"

Olette was busy glaring meaningfully at her boyfriend. He glanced over to the worried Roxas, pouted, sighed, then said, "Okay, look." The other two looked up, Axel's expression carefully schooled, Roxas' bordering on hurt. "So, maybe I'm being a little hard on the world today." The blond's brown eyes were raised to the sky, exasperated. "I'm sorry for being a dick, I do still think Roxas is my best friend, I do think Axel is human, now can we please just get on with this? I mean, didn't we have an assignment to do? Some – I don't know." His hands flailed. "Some fucking wondrous things to check out? Pence?" He turned to his old friend for guidance.

The brunet turned thoughtful. "I think… yeah, I'm pretty sure I've heard of them. The other day – one of them was the steps at the station, right? Over on Sunset side?"

Axel lifted his head a little, nodded. Sounding subdued, he agreed, "Yeah, that's one of them."

"Well, I think it sounds like fun," Olette encouraged. She bounced up to her feet. "And we might as well get started! Let's see about these steps first, okay? That way, I can write up the first plans on the train!"

The three friends shifted to the door, Olette turning as she realised that neither Roxas nor Axel had moved. "Aren't you guys coming?" she asked.

Roxas looked over, smiled thinly. "You guys go ahead – buy us tickets, okay? I'll pay you back. We'll be there in a minute."

Hayner looked disgruntled, but nodded. "Don't make us miss the train, or I'll kick both your asses from here to the tram line."

"You and what army?" Pence joked. The cloth curtain shifted, and they were gone. Their voices faded into the distance.

Roxas turned to Axel, concerned, and said, "I'm sorry. I should have talked to him about this already. You shouldn't have to put up with him being a jerk."

Axel gave a half-smile. "Neither of us should." He took a slow breath, angling his head back, the sun lighting up his hair like living fire. He wore a wistful expression. "To be honest, I wish we didn't have to stick around like this. I wish I could take from here, no questions asked… All the way back to Hollow Bastion."

"You – you don't want to stay?" Roxas fought back the stab of panic, gave his own crooked little smile, and said, "I shouldn't be surprised. People like you don't stay long. Every now and then, you come, and you're here for a while, but then in the end… you all leave." He trailed off into a mutter, "Why should it be any different with you?"

Axel watched him intently. "You know, Rox… People do come and go fairly regularly around here… But usually, when they leave – they don't tend to go alone." His head cocked to the side. "Did you ever notice that?"

Roxas lifted his head, held it on the same angle as the other, asked, "How would you know that?"

Axel straightened. "That's my own little secret." He tapped the side of his nose, winked. "Can't tell you." He shuffled back a step, green eyes fixed upon the blond. "Come on, we should get going. Forget about Hayner – it takes more than him throwing a hissy fit to get under my skin."

Roxas followed slowly, met him at the opening. They passed through the sunlight, and continued in shadow towards the train station.

.o.O.o.

The sun was beating down, when they emerged from the cover of Sunset Station, at the top of the long stone steps. Roxas peeled off his jacket, grabbing the back of Olette's shirt to tug her over, and stuffed it into her satchel.

"So." Hayner was unimpressed. "They're looking very… step-like today. I don't know how I didn't see it before, in all my years here."

"Don't be a jerk, Hayner," Olette scolded. Pence nodded, going down a couple stairs with a bounce.

"Yeah, get into it a little! Don't you think this is kind of mysterious and fun?"

The blond crossed his arms over his chest sardonically. "I'll get back to you on that one."

"So, theory goes," Axel broke in, smirking at Roxas, "that these steps count differently going down than coming up." He shrugged. "Me, I don't care to count when I'm going down or coming, but obviously some people are just multitalented."

Roxas blushed, lifting his eyes skyward, mumbling something inaudible. Olette giggled, while Hayner pulled a disgusted face. "Dude, please – I see the way you look at Roxas. I don't want to start thinking about you doing anything."

Roxas wanted to die. "Let's… start counting, okay?" he begged, voice cracking a little, skin flaming. Pence had tears leaking from his eyes from laughing so hard, but Olette managed to push him into position as they all squeezed together on the top step.

"So, we all ready? Count out loud, guys, otherwise we won't know if we've missed one." Olette looped one arm through Roxas', the other through Hayner's. "Ready? Go!"

"One, two, three…" They got to the bottom, finishing off at thirty-two.

"Thirty-two on the way down…" They twisted around, gazing back up.

"I feel like a douche," Hayner commented. Axel bit his tongue, but couldn't keep the grin away. Roxas gave him a pointed glare, struggling not to smile at the taller teen's smothered amusement. The silence spoke for itself, causing Hayner to scowl in their direction, Axel shrugging desperately back at him, as if to say, 'whaaaat?'

"So, back up we go!"

They positioned themselves side by side, and trooped back the way they'd come, sweating lightly. They were almost at the top – Roxas could see the final four stairs, and added them mentally to the twenty-eight they'd already ascended. So, there was one wasted wonder.

And that's when Roxas tripped. Blurting out a yell, he fell forward without warning, cutting his chin on one of the stone corners. Everyone let out cries of dismay. Axel was on him in a second, strong hands pulling him gently to his feet. "Oh, God, Roxas, I'm so sorry – I should've thought to catch you." The blond was carefully sat down on a low wall, out of the way of passers-by going to and from the station. The blood flowed fast and thin, like water, Roxas making a moue of disgust as he tried to staunch it. The others gathered around worriedly. Axel's hands were warm around his shoulders, as the redhead tilted him back to inspect the damage.

"I'm okay," Roxas winced. He tongued the inside of his lip, which had been bitten on impact, his mouth overwhelmed with the bitter taste of copper. "Really."

"I'm sorry," the redhead apologised a second time, eyebrows knitted together.

Roxas faltered, looked up at them all with a bewildered expression. "There was an extra step." He received blank looks. "I – that's what I tripped on. There was an extra step."

"Roxas?" Olette was frowning in concern, kneeling down in front of him, clutching his knees for balance as she peered up into his face. She reached up to wipe a smear of blood from his cheek. "I have my first-aid kit. I'll take care of that."

"But – " He looked at each of them in turn, expectantly. "There was an extra step! I tripped on it because I wasn't looking for it! There's – there's thirty-three steps going up!" He turned to Axel. "You were right about this one!"

"Uh, Roxas? I counted the same both ways," Pence pointed out. "I kind of kept going for the sake of the experiment, and yeah, there's only thirty-two steps."

"No!" Roxas pounded his knee, narrowly missing Olette's fingers, making everyone but Axel jump at the determination in his voice. He glared around at them. "There was, I felt it. You guys, there's an extra step."

Hayner regarded him sceptically. "Roxas, did you hit your head?"

"Hey, why shouldn't there be an extra step?" Axel interjected, before the blond could snap back a response. "It's the rumour, right? Maybe only some people see it, or feel it or whatever. Special people." He smiled at Roxas.

Pence shook his head. "I'm pretty sure it was Rai I heard talking about these steps – you'd only call that guy special if you wanted to insult him."

Hayner groaned, upper body listing to the side. "Are you telling me," he groused, "that we did this hokey little experiment because wonder-brawn didn't pay enough attention in first grade to learn how to count past his fingers?"

"Well, maybe that guy is stupid, but Roxas isn't," Axel argued stubbornly. "If he says there's an extra step, I believe him." He looked down at the blond, frowning. "I really do, you know."

Roxas smiled up through his blood. "Thanks."

"Ew, Roxas, stop that – your teeth are all red." Olette settled beside him on the wall, first-aid kit open, picking out cotton balls and rubbing alcohol. "Now, this is going to sting, so don't be a baby about it. It's better than getting an infection."

"Yes, mother," Roxas sighed. He sat as still as possible, flinching only once or twice as the avid brunette swiped away the blood and dirt.

"Ouch," she winced, sympathetically, once it was clean. "That's quite a split. I hope it doesn't need stitches."

"Stitches?"

Axel crouched down, carefully taking hold of his jaw between a thumb and forefinger, twisting his head around to see better. "Nah, it's fine. It might leave a scar, though."

"Hey, scars are cool," Hayner reassured. "You'll look all tough. The girls'll go nuts, Rox."

Axel glared. "Maybe he doesn't want the girls to go nuts."

"Ugh! Fine!" Hayner threw up his arms, stomping away. "I won't try to ruin your gay aspirations!"

Roxas cringed, lowering his eyes. Olette, noticing, turned on Hayner with a glower and a growl. He jumped a little, startled, then frowned and went quiet. Olette smiled sweetly at Roxas. "Well, that's all taken care of. Should we keep going, or do you want to go home now?"

"No – we can keep going. It's okay, it just hurts." Like, a lot. Roxas shook his head slowly, stood up. "Thanks, Olette." He turned to Axel, fighting back his discomfort at having those bright green eyes boring into him, and asked, "What next?"

Axel grinned suddenly. "The ball-wall."

Mind out of the gutter, Roxie. Roxas rolled his eyes. "Right, like I could forget."

"Oh, I just know I'm gonna love this one," Hayner sighed.

"We've got to split up for this one," Axel said. "There's a bunch of alleyways this side of town, and one of them holds the mythical ball-wall. Watch for projectiles coming from bricks, people."

"When did my Saturday become about finding ball-walls? Olette? Sweetheart, can you tell me that?"

"It's okay, Hayner." She giggled, linking an arm through his. "Maybe we'll be lucky and not find it."

"I'm going to check out the ones on the other side of the station," Pence mused. "It gets pretty dark over that way."

"Everyone, make sure to take notes," Olette reminded them. They quickly descended the stairs again, Roxas counting to thirty-two in his head, and broke apart. Roxas, gazing at the steps, didn't notice everyone was gone until it was just him and Axel.

"Well, Roxie? Are you ready?"

The blond blinked, twisted, glanced around in surprise. "Oh! Sure, okay, let's go."

The redhead stuck an elbow on the shorter boy's shoulder, leaning on him as they walked, glancing around at the sunny town. "This is cool. I haven't been here yet."

"Yeah." Roxas shrugged disinterestedly, making the other teen bob. "It's okay."

Axel cast a look down at him, curiously. "You sound unconvinced, Roxie. Still thinking about me leaving?"

Roxas scowled. "Well, I hadn't been, but I am now."

Axel laughed, reached down to pinch his cheek. "Aww, is Roxie gonna miss me when I'm gone?"

Blue eyes cut up sharply, eyebrows drawn down. "The way you say it makes it sound like it's going to be soon…"

Axel glanced away. "Well, not too soon. I just don't plan on staying forever."

Roxas was silent for several steps, Axel watching him closely. "You know…? Me either," the blond murmured. Axel smiled slowly.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Rox. Who knows, maybe we could be road-buddies when we leave…?"

Roxas nodded, a small smile in place. "I think I'd like that."

They meandered through the streets, Roxas occasionally peering down alleyways, but Axel had apparently lost interest in the pursuit.

"What about this one?" Roxas wondered, taking a few exploratory steps down a short lane. Axel glanced up, eyes narrowing.

"Sure, Roxie, give it a shot. I'll just wait here."

Roxas ventured further in, shoes scraping through the dust. "Nothing weird down here," he called back resignedly.

"No?"

The blond reached out, smoothing a hand across the bricked dead-end. He paused, hearing a noise from beyond it. "Well, that's weird," he mumbled, frowning. It was… a humming, buzzing sort of sound. He took a step back, eyes flickering across the wall, then cautiously pressed his ear against the cold stone. No, wait – it was… warm?

Hitching in a gasp, Roxas tugged back, only to have a pearl-coloured sphere the size of a beach ball come lobbing out towards him. He let out a yell, dropping to the ground, felt the breeze as it flew over his head. "Axel!"

"Jesus, Roxie!" The redhead flew to him, grabbed him up, bewildered. "Did you hurt yourself again? God damn it, you're not meant to get hurt!"

"It – there – " Roxas pointed wildly. "A freaking ball just flew out of it at my head! It's a ball-wall!" He turned to the redhead with wide eyes. "I think you might be onto something with these wonders."

Axel tugged him to his feet, giving a crooked smile, and shook his head. "Look at you, you're all dusty…" He brushed off the blond's clothing half-heartedly. "Roxas, if you can't take better care of yourself, we'll have to call this off. They're not meant to be the seven deadly wonders of Twilight Town."

"No, I – I'm okay," he replied breathlessly. "But – " He met Axel's eyes with wonder. "Did you see it? It would've shot straight past you… It was this big, white orb."

He started to move back towards the wall, but was halted by Axel's grip on his shirt. "Leave it for now, Roxie. The ball-wall's not going anywhere, and we need to find the others."

"Yeah… We need to show them…"

"Or… maybe we can just write up your results and show them another time? We're running out of daylight."

This was true – the search had taken a good three hours. Twilight Town hadn't earned its name by being eternally sunny. Roxas frowned. "We still need to do the fountain and the jumping bag."

"Sure, but we've got all week to check those things out."

"But – I want to see now," Roxas insisted, turning anxiously to the redhead. "I can't give up yet! These wonders are real, Axel. You believe me, don't you?"

Axel smiled down at the beseeching blue eyes. "Of course I do, Roxie. I told you that back at the stairs, remember?"

"No one else believed me," he grumbled. Axel's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You know why, though, right? It's because they're not open to that side of things. They're curious, sure, but to them, this is just some fun – just a way to disprove a rumour or two. You and I know differently, though – don't we, Roxas?"

Roxas was uncertain. "We do?"

"Sure we do. You and I – we believe in the unfamiliar. We believe that what you see isn't always what you need – or what you get."

The blond frowned, confused. "I'm not sure I follow."

Axel ruffled his hair. "It's okay, Roxie, you will one day. And on that day…" He swept in front of the teen, hands cupping the sides of his face, careful of the cut on his chin. His narrow, fair face bent down, eyes fixing determinedly on Roxas. "…you will know everything that I do about the world."

Roxas' lips quirked. "I dread to think."

Axel frowned, shook his head. "Don't dread it. Don't even joke about dreading it. It might not necessarily be better out there than it is here, but it'll be more raw, more real. Would you prefer to live a fantasy, Roxas?"

Roxas drew back, out of the other boy's grasp, not sure what to think. "I'm not living a fantasy, Axel. It's you that's making me think of the fantasy."

Axel thought this through, nodded slowly. "I can see what you're saying… But you've got it backwards, Roxas. Once you're out – that's when reality kicks in. This place…" He turned, gazed out at the street, the sound of the tram rattling by floating along to where they stood together. "It's nice… but it's like cotton candy."

"Cotton candy?" Roxas was amused by the comparison. "We're all sticky and rot your teeth, huh?"

"It's insubstantial," Axel responded, refusing to be drawn from his seriousness. "It falls apart the instant you start looking deeper. It doesn't satisfy your needs… your cravings…" He closed in on the teen, whose eyes grew round as the redhead increased their proximity, breath fanning against him. One finger came up, to stroke a line down Roxas' face, leaving a burning trail in its wake. "This place isn't where you belong, Roxas. You and I both know it. There's something more… and it's calling you."

Roxas' mouth trembled, pressed thin. "I want to see the fountain before we leave," he said, doggedly. Axel gave a tired smile, drew back, nodded once.

"Of course you do. Okay. I'll go find the others, get them over to the station. We'll meet you there. Make sure to be careful – I wouldn't want any more of these wonders attacking you." He smirked.

Roxas, head down, nodded quickly. "I'll see you there."

He hurried away, only letting the blush break out once he was sure he was out of sight. He flopped against the nearest wall, hands pressed to his burning cheeks, and felt the butterflies in his stomach waltz through to the pancreas. What was Axel thinking? What was Roxas thinking?

Emotions and preset ideals warred within his mind, struggling to find some steady ground upon which the boy in the center could sit and think.

He was… starting to like Axel. Like, as in, more than he thought he would. Or could. Or – argh. All he'd done, from the very first moment he'd thundered into Roxas' life, was stir things up, in his head, in his heart, in his body…

Roxas liked the thought of being road-buddies with Axel. He liked the thought that there was something more real than real life. He liked the fact that Axel liked to touch him, even if it wasn't in an effort to – to get into his pants or whatever.

He loved that Axel saw something different in him, that little piece that for the last couple years had been a cause for self-imposed isolation and boredom, and wanted to whisk him away from all that was crushing him here.

The unfamiliar was growing more and more appealing with every day… And Roxas knew, in some corner of his brain, that things shouldn't be feeling this right so fast – but it was like he couldn't quite wait for the day to come when Axel did leave… because, all going well, Roxas would join him. They could go together.

Roxas pushed away from the wall, feeling light-headed. His friends, his family – they'd always be in his heart, sure… but that heart wouldn't last for many more years if it was forced into a shape it didn't fit. Roxas didn't want to be squeezed to death – he wanted to breathe. Axel was showing him that… breathing – it was okay.

Filled with anticipation at what the next wonder would bring, he jogged through town until he reached the small council garden housing the large water feature. He had to admit, he'd never heard of anyone complaining about any unusualness to do with it, but then, he hadn't heard any of the other stuff, either. How was it that in less than a week, Axel knew more about his home town than he did? Was it because he came in with open eyes?

Roxas' feet left the path, entered grass, his shoes making a rustling noise across the lawn.

There it was. The now-fabled fountain, a wonder of Twilight Town. Roxas approached it cautiously, not certain anymore what to expect. Water showered down in a continuous cycle, the gentle rushing patter filling the garden. The dark stone behind the flow glistened, reflected. As Roxas got closer, he could see the rippling image of himself mirroring his actions. He stopped, stared, waited. The sun was setting, beyond the green hills, casting cooling golden light across the town. As it sank, the glow caught the water, flashing, blinding Roxas momentarily.

When he looked again, his reflection was gone.

Roxas blinked, frowned. He stepped closer, peering into the shimmering distortion. A hand tapped his shoulder. Slowly, he turned, and there, standing before him…

A shadow.

A shadow of – himself.

Eyes widening, Roxas asked, "How – ?"

The shadow opened its mouth. "I don't want this anymore." Its voice was like water rippling across stones. "I want to be free."

Roxas felt a stab of fear, stepped away from the apparition. "This is crazy. This isn't a wonder – this is a hallucination. What the hell? What the hell?"

The – the creature… looked mournful. "Roxas…"

"No!" Roxas' heart pounded, he tugged at his shirt with fright and distress. "This is insane."

The shadow grew angry. "Don't deny this anymore!" It was like listening to someone drown. "It's all up to you!" It took a menacing step forward. "You can't keep us here."

Roxas fell into the fountain with a gasp, ice water spilling over his head and shoulders, streaming down his back. He jolted forward, hands scrubbing desperately at his eyes, searching for the impossible, angry specter.

It was gone.

He whirled to the fountain, droplets of water flinging from his hair, and there it stood, back within its trap – a two-dimensional, sad-looking creature, gazing out from its reflective prison. It was… alone in there. And cold. It couldn't move until… Roxas moved. And even then… it moved only as Roxas dictated.

Roxas felt his pulse begin to slow. He wasn't so scared, anymore. He just felt – lost. Was it the emotion of his shadow?

Wasn't his shadow as much a part of him as his flesh?

"You don't… want this anymore?" Roxas was confused. "But… how can you ever escape? You're just… a shadow."

The darkness leaked away, as the last of the sun dipped below the horizon. Roxas' reflection was simply himself again. He shivered as the wind picked up, slipping through his wet clothing, making it cling to his skin.

"I don't understand." His voice was small.

It's all up to you… you can't keep us here…

Axel… Roxas needed Axel. He needed someone who'd believe him… someone who'd make him feel warm again.

Roxas needed someone who could convince not only his mind, but his shadow itself, that Twilight Town wasn't forever.