Disclaimer- Wow... I own nothing... still. You would think after eight chapters I would but...
Warnings- Hmm, Axel's acts of pedophilia are revealed to the world? Or perhaps Demyx anguish? But we all already knew about those things
A/N- Well, I went to go see the play Grease. And the whole time, I imagined Axel playing the part of Danny Zuko and Roxas as Sandra Dee. Yes, my mind is on crack, but it's totally in the right place... Ok people! Leave me alone, it's been a long weekend and I feel into a fountain :(
Protecting Me
Chapter 9 : Pitch Black
Whenever, where ever baby
You'll protect me
No matter what
Roxas looked around at his surroundings frantically. Nothing seemed the least bit familiar to him anymore. It caused his tiny head to spin and a gut wrenching feeling of loneliness to enter his body. The truth (and horror) of the matter was, he was stranded in a cold, dark, unfamiliar place... And he was completely alone... Does it get any worse?
But just moments ago he could have sworn he was with Axel. Yeah... Him and Axel had decided to get out of the castle for a bit. Axel took him to Twilight Town to play, and they were sitting up on the clock tower together, admiring the view of Twilight town not too far away. The clear skies above the town were bright and sunny. The redhead next to him just watched Roxas carefully so that he didn't fall from his spot. Everything seemed fine... Then things changed...
Was it possible he had fallen from the tower?
Impossible though, he would have felt it if he had. Even if he did, it didn't explain the change in scenery. He was standing on a stained glass platform, nothing else above or below. Nothing off to the side except for a steep drop into darkness. It was cold, dark and lonely. He looked up, no longer able to even see a sky above his head. He shifted in his spot a bit as he heard something scurry behind him.
"A-Axel?..." He hoped and prayed that the noise was just cause by his older friend coming to find him and tell him everything was okay. Nothing but silence responded back to him. Something on the ground began to rustle frantically, followed by the awful noise of claws scratching down a bare chalkboard. He wished his eyes would somehow become more accustom to the dark. He couldn't see a thing... Then again, maybe he didn't WANT to see what that was.
Another scary noise sounded much closer to him and that was it. He could no longer stand in one spot and wait hopelessly. He took off running as fast as is little legs could possibly carry him, even if that meant falling off the platform all together.
"AXEL!" Roxas screamed as he ran, not even daring to glance behind him. Bad things happened to people who looked back...
Finally a ray of hope shined before him. Right as he was about to fall off the edge of the platform, light shined in the darkness, and from that light, stained glass stepping stones lead him up to another levl. His big aqua eyes were met with a small beam of light coming from the highest platform. He ran for the light, standing under it, breathless, as it seemed to give him energy. Just when he needed it most, more hope seemed to fall right into his lap.
Leaning against a large ominous looking door was a mass of red hair wrapped in a tight black cloak. He knew that person anywhere.
"Ax!" Roxas called out happily, but the redhead didn't even flinch at the noise. He attempted to run. Try to get as far away from the darkness and as far into the light as he could. But he couldn't, his feet were stuck in place. No, they were more then stuck, they were being pulled down!
Black shadowy hands had a tight grip around his ankles and yellow glowing eyes stared up at him. It looked like a heartless, but it couldn't have been! It was huge! Huge with a gaping hole where its heart should have been located.
Roxas began to thrash wildly, tears streaming down his flushed face. More unearthly hands gripped his wrist, pulling him out of the light and back into the darkness.
"AXEL! Help!" He continued to shout to the older nobody. It still seemed as if Axel's ears remained un-pierced. The blond attempted fighting as best as he could, but they seemed so much stronger. Not only in physical strength, but in will to bring him back into the darkness. "Get off'a me!"
The redhead tilted his head slightly, seeming to lock eyes with Roxas. For a second Roxas was hoping that Axel had heard him... That he'd finally be saved. But Axel's stare seemed different... His vibrant green eyes seemed glossed over. A blank zombie like stare. Almost like he was looking right through Roxas. Instead of going forward to help his friend in distress, Axel broke his stare, turned on his heel, and walked in the opposite direction through the door.
"Noooo!" Roxas struggled to try and follow Axel. Roxas took in a deep breath and released the loudest scream he could muster. A hand shot out from the darkness and clasped tightly over his mouth. Silencing him...
Darkness closed in around his chest, moving up his body.
The last thing he saw was the image of his retreating best friend before darkness engulfed his small figure.
He sank into the cold darkness.
xXx
Axel awoke abruptly when a sharp pain surged through his side. A tiny foot hit his hip bone as the boy beside him flailed in his sleep. His fist tightly clenched Axel's quilt and his whole body seemed to tense up. Axel groaned inwardly as Roxas continued to make a fuss, now repeatedly shouting 'no' into the darkness of the room. Why did sleep seem so hard to come by these days?
'3AM... Couldn't Roxas have had his little breakdown at some other time?' The green numbering on the clock just seemed to mock him again.
"Rox, get up," Axel shook him gently only to be rudely kicked again. "and would you stop it with the kicking?" He yelled a little louder.
Yelling seemed to work well, seeing as the tiny blond snapped awake, sitting up fast. Sweat covered his brow, dripping down his neck. The front of his shirt was soaked from the struggle he previously put up. Negative images of darkness began to run through his mind again causing him to let out a little whimper, but he soon realized that everything was gone.
The only thing that engulfed him now was Axel's overstuffed blanket. The only darkness surrounding him was temporary, disappearing as soon as Axel switched on the lamp. No longer were the fire wielders eyes glossy. Once again vibrant, yet held a hint of concern in them.
"I-yo-...I-I was-" The poor kid seemed almost incapable of forming complete sentences. "...Ax." Roxas dove into Axel's arms, holding onto him as if his own life depended on it. Axel sat there in the dim light, his eyes on Roxas's head buried into his chest. A wet spot formed on his white shirt as tears fell from Roxas's eyes.
"What? What's wrong? Are you alright?" Axel scooped Roxas up so he could cradle him safely in his arms. Roxas didn't loosen his grip on Axel at all.
"Y-you left me!... Thewe was an-... You jus' let me be eaten!" With that last statement, Roxas pounded a tiny fist against Axel's chest.
"Take it easy! You're a lot stronger then you think." He held back Roxas's fist.
He figured the younger nobody just suffered a nightmare. Back when Demyx was partially useful to him, instead of his current lusting after Zexion, he had brought Axel a book on childcare. Now why their library would hold such a book was beyond him, but it did say that even the smallest changes in routine could spark nightmares. (No, he didn't read it because he cared, thank you very much!... It was boredom... extreme... boredom. Which seemed to happen a lot lately). Perhaps it was just that stupid bath that uprooted some underlying fear Roxas had?
Roxas mentioned something about him leaving... Axel got out of the bath while Roxas was still in there. Was Roxas's possibly afraid that he would be left? Axel buried his face into Roxas's hair for a second to think.
"Just a bad dream Roxas. You'll be fine."
Roxas looked up at him through watery eyes. His body shook like a leaf and every few seconds he would convulse from a hiccup. Something in Axel tore when he saw his best friend so scared and helpless.
"Y-you left! I called fow you an' you didn't come!"
"I would never leave you." Axel rubbed awkwardly at Roxas back, never too good at comforting people, but for Roxas' sake, he always tried to rise to the occasion.
"You did... You walked away." It seemed like Roxas' grip was tightening. Holding Axel in place in case the older nobody got some crazy idea in his head to leave. Axel sighed, knowing that nothing he was going to say would convince Roxas his dream was not a reality.
"Well you're safe now." His long arms wrapped all the way around Roxas's body, his own warmth spreading into the toddlers unnaturally cold body. He brushed a few sweaty blond locks out of Roxas's face.
"Don't le'mme" Roxas muttered under his breath.
"I won't..." Axel let out a low sigh.
He sat with Roxas cuddled safely in his arms for a good half hour or so. Admittedly, it felt good to hold Roxas like that but by this time all he wanted was to crawl back into bed and go back to sleep. His attempts at coaxing Roxas back to sleep were unsuccessful. Roxas's head rested against his chest, but his eyes remained open. A few times Roxas seemed like he was nodding off, but when Axel tried to set him down, Roxas would let out a cry and hold onto Axel's shirt even tighter than before.
"Roxas, you have to go back to sleep."
"What if you leave again?" Another tear slid down his cheek, which Axel quickly wiped away with his thumb.
"And where am I going to go? It's 2:30 in the morning. Unless I'm going to leave you to go to a strippers joint, I'll be right here all night." Axel chuckled lightly, but Roxas didn't look all to amused... Or maybe just confused. What the heck was he talking about?
"See? You'll leave..."
"It was a joke." Axel ruffled Roxas's hair. "When you were older we had this inside joke about where Xigbar went when he left the castle at crazy times of-" He looked down to see Roxas still had a confused look on his face. "Never mind. You just go to sleep."
Roxas shrugged, cuddling close to Axel's chest again.
"Youw wawm." Axel glanced down at the toddler whose eyes were beginning to close at the natural warmth coming off of the redhead's body. Heat always made people sleepy. A smirk crossed Axel's face as he got an idea.
"Want to see something cool?" Roxas looked up at him with curiosity through half lidded eyes.
Axel's hand formed a fist. Heat rose from Axel's core, moving though his body into his arm. Finally it was ejected from his body through his palm as he slowly unfurled his fingers to reveal a calming flame. Axel held the heat close to Roxas and let it warm him for a while. Roxas's eyes weakly followed the flickering patterns the flame gave off. For some reason he felt as though he could no longer keep his eyes open to watch the show Axel was putting on for him.
Just as Axel had predicted, Roxas soon started to become dead weight in his arms.
"We'll stay together, 'k Ax?" Roxas mumbled before falling into a dreamless sleep. The redhead couldn't help but smile as he leaned back into his pillow to do the same with Roxas still safely in his arms.
"Sure thing." The light was flipped off again and the room fell into darkness
xXx
The corridors were pitched black by this time. Three in the morning... and normal nobodies, let's repeat that: normal, were in bed where they belonged. But no, what was Zexion doing? Hurrying as fast as he could down to the library with nothing but a flashlight and a half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
... Isn't it lovely what his life had sunk to?
This was all Demyx's fault! He wouldn't have been so behind if it weren't for him and his antics!... and his... eyes… and lips... No wait! This was still all his fault!
The only way to solve this problem was to distance himself from Demyx at all cost. That blond could just pout and whine all he wanted, the only way to get through to him was to not listen to any of it. Whatever knot twisted in Zexion's stomach whenever he blonds name was mentioned was probably just poor digestion... Probably his poorly made sandwiches...
The surprising sound of splashing water filled Zexion's ears, and pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up from his feet, which he was keeping an eye on so he wouldn't trip in the dark, towards a glass door that was fogged over with condensation. Never had he personally been in that room, but he certainly knew what it was. A water based training area. Everyone had an individual training room so they could further develop their personal elements. Despite the fact that Zexion's head was screaming 'no', his feet wouldn't stop moving towards the door.
The room was large and grayish white in color like the rest of the castle. What set this room apart from all the others was the large pool in its center. And just as he guessed, there stood Demyx on the edge of the deepest end with his back turned to the pool. Zexion walked in just in time to watch Demyx do a back flip into the pool, creating yet another large splash. Zexion moved closer to the pool to watch him swim to the bottom before coming back up to break the surface, his normally gelled hair now flattened and a serene look in his eyes.
"You're supposed to use this pool for training, not personal enjoyment."
"Huh?" Demyx turned in the water, growing wide-eyed when he saw Zexion... ZEXION! In HIS training room... He composed himself the best that he could, trying to act calm and cool.
"Oh, I do use it for training, but I had a nightmare and being around water calms me. Guess I just came down to get my mind off of things for a while." He pushed off his feet to float on his back. Cool on the surface... and in his mind overjoyed.
"I see..."
Zexion bit his bottom lip, his eyes focused on Demyx's well-developed stomach. For someone who was so adverse to combat he sure had battle ready muscles. It was easy to see why he was such a good dancer.
"Wanna swim with me?"
Zexion quickly shook his head both to decline the offer, and to stop Demyx thinking he had been staring.
"I don't have any swim trunks."
"You could always swim naked... or in your underwear," Demyx let out a snort. "not like I haven't seen 'um before."
A scowl crossed Zexion's face as he turned on his heel, headed for the door.
"Wait Zexy! I'm sorry, I was just joking! Please don't leave." Demyx yelled. He pushed out of the water to sit on the edge of the pool with a towel wrapped around his shoulders.
"Listen Number Nine," Zexion turned his head just enough to see Demyx, his hand still on the doorknob. "I will tell everyone that you did not take advantage of me, and fix both of our reputations."
"That's great Zex-"
"But," Zexions' harsh expression didn't soften. "I think it would be in both of our best interests if we distanced ourselves from one another." With one final glare into Demyx's hurt face, he swung open the door. He tried to get away as fast as he could, but soon a familiar pair of bare feet ran along the cold tiles to follow after him
"Wait! I thought we fixed this. I left you a note. Didn't you come down to apologize to me? I don't understand." Demyx yelled after him, pulling his towel around his bare chest.
"Apologize?" Zexion didn't slow down at all. "It was mere coincidence that I found you. I was headed to the library to do work I was SUPPOSED to do the other day! Now kindly stay away from me!"
"But Zexy-"
"I said stay away!" He came to a halt, his voice a cold hiss causing Demyx to stop dead in his tracks. "And one more thing, my name is NOT Zexy! I expect to be addressed properly from now on by a lower ranked member."
Zexion was truly proud of himself from that moment on. Not only had Demyx stopped following him, but now the thought of Demyx bothering him was out of his mind. Maybe now that work would get done. Work was in fact one of the most important things in his life... well, his non-existent life.
That final glare he directed at Demyx struck Demyx with such a force that it seemed as if someone had shot him. Zexion's stomach gave another one of those uncomfortable flips.
"I just. Want. To. Work."
Demyx didn't speak or move. Zexion was frozen at the door of the library. Was Demyx really hurt over this? Zexion shook his head, choosing not to look back at Demyx. He knew it was a facade. Nobodies could not feel, they could not hurt, they could not form real and lasting friendships. They could not love, they could not touch or embrace. It would be worthless.
Briefly it was as if Zexion was back in the dark corner of that club, second guessing every step and breath he took. Demyx's hands were searching his body, and without any feeling at all, it felt good. It wasn't his pseudo emotions, for he wasn't in any state to pretend. The tips of Demyx's finger were like fire, stimulating every nerve in his body.
Every nerve and muscle in his body sunk into the stimulation caused from Demyx's hands rocking his hips to the pulse of the music.
"Please..." Zexion mumbled. He didn't understand. He didn't want to. He disappeared into the darkness of the library without looking back .
xXx
Before the bell even got a chance to ring Axel woke up with a familiar weight resting on his stomach. The small blond haired boy was still curled up on Axel's stomach sleeping comfortably with his thumb in his mouth. He looked so sweet... Why couldn't he just have both Roxas's at once? He didn't want to have to choose between the two of them. The sweet, innocent, loving little kid, and his sarcastic, trouble making, down to earth best friend.
True, the thought of having his best friend, not to mention right arm, back at his side made him smile but so did the adorable little boy who held no worries what-so-ever. He had survived thus far. Five days now right? He stretched his arms high over his head, soon realizing he wasn't going to go anywhere as long as Roxas slept on top of him.
"Rox, get off, you lazy bum." He said as he ruffled the blond's already messy hair.
"'m not lazy..." Roxas mumbled as he opened his all too familiar blue eyes. He pushed himself up on Axel's chest. "Youw the one layin' down!" Before Axel knew it Roxas playfully licked the very tip of his nose, leaving a fair amount of wetness behind.
"Roxas... that's disgusting." He pushed the laughing toddler off of his chest, smiling inwardly to himself.
"Well... then don't call me lazy!" Roxas accused, his focus had now turned to inspecting Sora to see if Axel had done a good job in caring for it. So far in Roxas' eyes, the plush animal seemed to be in perfect condition... well, as perfect as it was going to get seeing as Roxas already did a number on it. "Let's take 'im to bweakfast!"
xXx
"And, as you can see in these pictures, Axel was smiling the whole time." Larxene hovered over the breakfast table along with a few other members of the Organization, pointing to some freshly printed photos.
"And here I was thinking the only tattoos Axel had were under his eyes..."
"Absolutely sickening."
The only thing Axel could do was stand in the doorway in complete shock, holding on tightly to Roxas as his face drained of all color. Everyone turned to him with a dirty smirk as soon as he entered. A few higher ups gave him looks of disappointment.
What a thing to wake up to. Take a shower, get dressed, look at about ten or fifteen pictures of yourself naked laying out on a table for everyone to see, eat breakfast...
Yeah, it was that bad. Luckily Xemnas wasn't there to witness this horrible act (or maybe he saw all he needed to the other day). Saix, Zexion and Demyx were also missing from this little photo sharing party... Lucky them. Larxene laughed in the most mocking way humanly possible as she held up a picture of Axel climbing out of the bath.
"Pretty big one you got there Axel." Xigbar walked past Axel, giving him a pat on the shoulder as if he was a proud father.
"Yeah, you just wish you had one like it old man..." Axel mumbled under his breath.
"This is horrible!" Larxene abandoned the pictures to walked around the table. In a dramatic fashion, she took hold of Axel's chin. "First we find out we have a closet couple in the Organization, and now a pedophile? What's next?" She turned to the rest of them. "Anyone want to come out as a transvestite? Now would be the time."
Marluxia just raised an eyebrow to Larxene, casually shrugging off her act. Axel gave her a harsh glare.
"He was too young to do it by himself. What was I supposed to do?" Axel set Roxas down, then went over to the table to see these photos Larxene so rudely took.
"Well you didn't have to get in with him."
"If it wasn't for you feeding him that bullshit about the drain I wouldn't have had-"
"And why were you smiling the whole time?"
"I wasn't smil-"
This time Axel was interrupted by a smirking Vexen, holding up ten pictures in a row in which the redhead looked quite happy. "These would say otherwise Number Eight."
"Axel was happy! So what?" Everyone's attention immediately diverted to the floor... or rather, the miniature Organization member standing faithfully by Axel's side. Roxas stepped triumphantly up to the others, taking the time to look each one dead in the eye. "So what? I love my Axey, why wouldn't he be happy?"
"Oh he loves you back all right..." Marluxia challenged Roxas's glare only to have a hand slapped over his mouth courtesy of Larxene.
"Isn't that cute Marly? The thing actually thinks it has fee-"
"Shut up Larxene!" Before Larxene could say anymore, Axel had violently shoved her into the back wall. Her back connected sharply with the wall, causing her to hiss in pain.
He knew exactly what she was going to say next. She was going to say that Roxas didn't have any feelings...
Over the past few days, it was made quite clear to Axel that Roxas must have suffered some memory loss in the transition from teen to toddler. One big thing Axel noticed that Roxas had forgotten was that he couldn't feel things such as love. And he would be damned if Larxene was going to be the one to break Roxas like that.
Not again anyway...
"You shut up and don't talk to him!" After pushing her against the wall the only thing Axel could do was shout and stare at her with blind fury. Xaldin and Lexaeus held him back from further harming their female member.
"That's enough Axel." Lexaeus pulled him back roughly, "The both of you."
Roxas stood by Axel's feet, half glaring at Larxene, but at the same time ready to run for cover if she actually decided she was going to attack.
Larxene pushed herself off of the wall, a nice bruise probably forming on her back and revenge written across her face. Heck, she probably would have went straight for Axel's good for nothing throat right there is Saix didn't poke his head into the room right at that moment. Following closely behind Xemnas's assistant was Demyx, looking around the room nervously. Axel assumed he heard the fight from outside the door. Demyx never did do well around fighting... Larxene clenched her fist to hold back her anger for a moment.
"Axel, did you not get the notice on your door this morning?" Saix spoke in his usual monotone, despite the fact that he heard the fighting. Axel's green eyes shifted from Saix to Demyx.
"Wasn't paying much attention I guess." Axel bent down to pick up Roxas before the kid jumped Larxene. He wouldn't have put it past Roxas...
"The Superior wants you and Demyx in his office for a mission briefing. Now." Not really caring much for whatever senseless stupidity that was taking place amongst the lower ranked members, Saix summoned a portal and disappeared just as quickly as he had come. He left Demyx standing in the doorway, looking rather lost and alone at the moment. The dirty blond caught Axel's gaze, giving him a comforting smile; Unfortunately, no one seemed to return Demyx's optimism.
"W-what'd I miss?" Demyx swallowed hard as he nervously rubbed at the back of his neck.
"I'll show you what you missed." Larxene summoned her Kunai and made a quick lunge for Axel, only to be held back by Xigbar. Even with Larxene safely restrained, Roxas wiggled out of Axel's grasp and made a run for it. He latched onto Demyx's leg, hugging his stuffed animal close.
Demyx just blinked, Axel and Larxene were both being restrained for reasons he didn't really catch. The musician hesitated before pointing meekly to Axel. "X-Xemnas n-needs 'im..." The grasp on Axel was loosened, and thankfully the hold on Larxene wasn't loosened until the trio was long gone from the dinning area.
"Jeez, Axel... What'd you do!" Demyx laughed as soon as he pulled Axel and Roxas away from the rest of them. The dirty blond summoned a portal, about to walk through it. Axel pulled him backwards, away from the portal and pointed to Roxas.
"Portals are dangerous for him, remember?" Demyx just scratched his cheek, giving Axel an I'm sorry expression.
"About the kitchen," Axel stopped for a second, not really feeling anyone else needed to know about those pictures. "it's none of your business. I just want Larxene to be kept as far away from Roxas as physically possible."
Demyx gave an awkward nod. To him, Axel looked really tired and worn out. From what he heard in the hallway, he sounded pretty angry too.
"Hey Ax, I have an Idea." Oh lord... here it comes. An idea from the mind of an idiot. "Xemnas did put both of us in charge of Rox, why don't I take him off your hands sometime? You look really tired..."
"And while I'm at it, why don't I just feed the kid to a crocodile."
"Why would you do that?" Demyx raised an oblivious eyebrow. Axel rolled his eyes, tugging them along faster down the hallway.
"Let's just get Roxas up to my room so we can see what Xemnas wants."
xXx
"Your report is two hours late and looks a bit rushed. I expect better from you Zexion."
"I apologize sir. It won't happen again, I promise." The lilac haired teen gave a respectful bow to his Superior. It was bad enough that his report was shamefully written, but the Superior always held him to high standards based on his previous work. He didn't like to disappoint people, especially Xemnas. Zexion began to back away towards the large double doors, about to leave.
Suddenly they swung open and two other nobodies stepped into the room. Axel, still in his fiery mood from the kitchen incident and Demyx, who had a science defying smile on his face when he saw Zexion. The blond caught Zexion's blue eyes on his way out.
"Hiya Zexiiiiiiooooo- oh." When the other nobody shot back with the same venomous glare he had the other night, Demyx backed off and let him leave the room. With him gone, the pair was finally alone with Xemnas.
Axel moved closer to the desk with a strut that reflected his less then perfect attitude at that time. He slammed one hand on the superiors paper cluttered desk. Definitely a move that wouldn't earn any merits in the Superiors book, or sympathy for that matter.
"So let me guess what this mundane mission is going to be... Another bath maybe?"
"You and Demyx have been assigned to Agrabah." Xemnas said without hesitation as he hit Axel's hand away from his desk. "Your mission is to clear the area of all heartless. Larxene already surveyed the land the other day and we found nothing of any use. We're pulling out and it's up to the both of you to make sure it happens. Any civilian interference with your mission should be taken care of as well. Understood?"
Axel glanced back at Demyx with wide eyes, almost as if to ask "A real mission? An ACTUAL mission?"
"Yes sir!" Axel pulled back with a more confident expression.
A mission, he could handle. A toddler was slightly harder to deal with. It's not like a kid was something you could knock over the head with a chakram and be done with...
xXx
"It's been how long now since I've got to go on an actual mission?"
"And we get to go together. Haven't gotten to do that in a while either." Demyx summoned his sitar, letting the instrument fall flat onto Axel's bed.
The trio met in Axel's room after receiving their assignment to take the time to prepare for the mission. Actually... the 'going with Demyx' part was something Axel was less then thrilled about. But to get out of the castle once and for all, not to fulfill some mundane chore, he really couldn't care less who he went with.
"Wha's a mission?" Roxas looked up from the floor where he was playing with Sora.
"It's like... a task." Demyx said, although now focused more on shining his instrument and checking it over for dents.
"Like a duty. If someone gives you a mission, then it's your responsibility to carry it out no matter what." Axel pulled his dark hood over his wild hair. His identity became unrecognizable once his hood was done up.
Roxas watched the both of them getting ready with wide eyes. The two of them looked about ready for some big adventure to take place or something. A sudden realization dawned on the small child. When Demyx said he was going on a mission after breakfast the other day, he didn't come back for a really long time...
"Waaaaaait! Awe you guys leavin' me!" The toddler jumped up frantically, grabbing onto Demyx's cloak. The Melodious Nocturne turned to Axel with a sad look in his eyes before bending down to Roxas's level.
"We'll be back before you know it Roxas."
Axel leaned down beside Demyx. "Yeah Rox, we're only leaving for a little while." He set a hand on the tiny blonds shoulder. When Roxas still held a look of fear Demyx pulled the toddler into a hug.
"Do we really have to leave him Axel? He's so tiny. What if something happens to him?"
"We can't bring him with us." The redhead stood up to create a portal that would take them straight to Agrabah's market place.
"Can we really leave him alone though?" Demyx was still hesitant to stand up and walk away.
"It's not like he doesn't know the place," Axel shrugged. "You know not to go touching anything you're not supposed to right Roxas?"
The toddler gave a tiny nod, his eyes filling up with water. With the okay from Roxas, Demyx stood up from the floor, watching Axel walk through the portal and a tear fall from Roxas's eyes. The musician was just about to follow Axel through when he got a sudden idea.
"Roxas, you want to go on a mission like us, right?" Another nod from Roxas.
"Demyx, come on!" A voice echoed from within the portal.
"I'm coming!" Demyx shouted back. He spoke quickly to Roxas. "Could you maybe cheer up Zexion for me? It would mean a lot... And consider that a mission."
And just like that, Roxas found himself alone. The two people who cared about him had left him all alone. He wrapped his arms tightly around his stuffed animal to hold back tears. Demyx had given him a mission, and he wasn't about to let his friend down. It would mean braving the castle alone.