~Axel's Story: Bond Of Flame~

Axel grinned sheepishly as he raised his hand, "To Hell with it; I'll give it a shot."

Everyone stared at him intensely: Maybe it was his arrogance, or his attitude, or that grief that lurked in those green eyes.

"By all means," Aqua answered. "Please, tell us your story."

"My pleasure."

I didn't want to end up like this...

It was a year ago. The moon shone brightly that night, just like always. It was what I tried to focus on, just to try to forget the screams.

Mom and Dad are fighting again, I think as the shouts elevate in volume. My mother's shouts were quickly reduced to cries, and my father became silent as his hits became frenzied.

I never tried to interfere; at least, not for a while. The first time it happened, I placed my body in front of my mother's, in hope of stopping his attack.

He just flung me to side, making my head bash against the table. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was how the blue carpet had a dark stain. Red, like blazing flames.

I got ten stitches that day. That was just a warning: that it was none of my business.

So I complied.

I waited, and waited, and waited... Until the screams stopped. That was my cue to leave: I got up from my bed and picked up my jacket; it was cold out. I rushed through the living room, seeing as the couch was blood-stained, as well as the tiled floor and the wall.

Those bastards were probably in their room, cuddling like teenagers.

That was their routine: argue, he hits her, and they have sex. It was so disgusting: either my mom's a masochist, or she was just plain blind.

I rushed out of the house, a place I'll never call a home. A place I'd leave the first chance I get.

I met up with Isa at a dark building. The most notable thing about this place was the outside. On the wall, there was an immense graffiti painting that read 'The Organization'. My fist clenched, This is the place.

"Lea, are you sure you want to do this?" Isa's yellow eyes shone with fear, which I don't blame him. I was scared outta my wits, too.

"Yeah," I answered. "On the other hand, you don't have to do this."

"Dude, I'm not leaving you there. You'll probably screw everything up," we smiled.

"Damn right I will," I laugh. "Now let's go."

We entered the building, and found the inside to be monochromatic: the walls, furniture and floors were all in black and white. When we reached the end of the hall, we found ourselves in a vast room, where twelve seats stood. Only one was being used, in it sat a man with grey hair, and the most freakish eyes I've ever seen. They were amber, but the thing that irked me was that they looked so real. Those must've been some expensive eye-contacts.

"So you came," the man said. "I welcome you, if you think you're up for it."

"Up and ready as ever," Isa replies; he's found his voice. Nobody can shut him up now.

The man seemed amused, "Oh?"

"You know it 'Gramps! We're ready for anything you can throw at us!" I yelled, feeling all fired up.

He raised an eyebrow at me, "...'Gramps'? Is that any way to speak to your superior?"

"If you're our superior, does that mean we're in?" Isa asked, putting one and one together.

"You're a smart one, I like that. Welcome to The Organization. You shall refer to me as Xemnas." In that moment, two of the chairs glow strangely, one with red and one with blue lights.

"It seems that the shadows welcome you," the man states.

You're probably confused as fuck, right? Let me explain:

The Organization is an underground demon cult. They rob, kill, and do anything if their 'god' tells them so, to the point where they'd blow up this entire town. Yet, no one has ever seen them, or accused them for that matter. They're shadows, and anyone who manages to join is long gone. What do I mean? Check it out.

"Take a seat," Xemnas urges.

Reluctantly, I take a seat on the red one, while Isa walks to the blue one. As soon as I sit, something pulls at me. Hard. I try to escape, but it just holds me tighter. It whispers at me, You've lived through so much pain.

Your life was so dreadful, it pained you to wake up every morning. Every single day of your life, you suffered. Wouldn't it be nice to give that up? To not feel anything at all?

Yes, that's what I wanted. To be cold, to be blissfully ignorant, to not feel at all. Could he give that to me?

I can, just surrender yourself to the dark. Let it take a hold of you. Once it does, it will never let you go. You'll be free.

That sounded so good. So I did. I put my defenses out, and let myself go. The feeling of something leaving was noticed, and I choked when I realized something. My heart...!

Yes, it has stopped. This is the price for freedom.

The pain is instantaneous. It burns my insides, it burns... The flames... WHY DON'T THEY STOP!

The fire inside of you is wild, rebellious. You shall be reborn tonight as a flurry. The Flurry of Dancing Flames, Axel.

And just like that, I opened my eyes. Could I have fallen asleep? If I did, that was one hell of a dream. It got up to my feet, but something didn't feel right. I looked at my body, and my eyes widened. Where my normal clothes were, now was a new attire. A red shirt under a black jacket, and black jeans. I had boots on as well. On the jacket it said, AXEL.

I looked to the side, where Isa was standing. He was wearing something similar, only that his jacket didn't say AXEL, nor was his shirt red; it was blue and the jacket said SAIX.

But that wasn't what surprised me.

On his face, right on the bridge of his nose, was an X, cut into his skin. I blinked, and opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it.

"Lea, your face...!"

"It seems that the ceremony was completed. I commend you for surviving," Xenmas interrupts. He locks eyes with Isa. "What is your name?"

"Isa."

"Your new name..."

He blinked. He thought for a moment and answered, "...The Luna Diviner, Saix."

"Very well. You may leave," he said, clearly dismissing him. He turns to me. "And yours?"

"The Flurry Of Dancing Flames. My name is Axel."

"Flames, hm? The name suits you," he smiled. "Now, talk with Xigbar to begin your training."

And just like that, we were in.

When we were walking to meet this Xigbar person, we passed a hall made of glass. That's when I saw my face: two tear streaks under my eyes, as dark as night. I reached and touched them, but they didn't come off.

Not much to explain after that: We met with the other members and they introduced themselves. We got our own rooms and weapons: mine was a gun whose bullets burst into flame by contact, while Isa's... um, Saix's was a gun that when shot, released a bright light that blinded the target. Then, it shot the bullet.

I never went back home after that day. This was my new home. We got jobs, and I won't deny it: I've hurt, wounded and even killed people. All for the sake of the team. Not that I felt pity for the victims, I haven't felt that in forever.

But that's not the reason I'm here.

It was more recently, three months ago. Saix and I were more than used to the way of life at The Organization. We had found a home in this place. And in terms of our work, we were a team. We aced every mission we got, and we thought that day was no different.

"Axel, Saix. There's a suspect lurking outside our hall on occasions. I need you to give him a warm welcome, and show him what The Organization is," he smiled evilly. Warm wasn't the correct word to use in this situation.

"Yes sir," Saix responded. He had become the boss' left hand man, and had his trust. Xemnas dismissed us, and we went to our rooms to get our weapons.

"Yo, Axel."

Saix was standing at the door, gun in hand. He looked serious, more serious than usual. "Yeah?"

"Do you think... what we're doing is right?"

"Saix, it's a bit too late to think this over."

"I know, I know, I'm just curious to see what my best pal is thinking," he smiled.

"You know I never think, buddy." We laughed. It's moments like this why I left my home, why I came here. I didn't regret anything.

"Come on," Saix said. "Let's do the job."

"Right behind you."

The man was cornered, there was absolutely no way for him to escape. Saix and I had him. Just one shot, and he's dead.

Saix shot his gun, leaving the man as well as me, blind. I staggered against the brick wall, and reached for my gun. I could only see two silhouettes, and one of them shouted, "Axel, shoot now!"

I did and shot the silhouette, and I saw it fall to the ground. My eyesight became clear, and my eyes widened.

The blue hair.

The scar on his face.

The bloody shirt and jacket covered in flames.

I just shot my best friend.

~0~

Thank you to xxxHikari-Kurai, emmausgirl94, ZealousZexionZealot, HeartsMockingjay & C. Sandiego is On the Horizon for the alert!

Thank you to xxxHikari-Kuraixxx & emmausgirl94 for the favorite!

Replies:

xxxHikari-Kuraixxx: I wish it was just as awesome as it looks. ^^

Emo Unfaltering: Here it is, my dear! Hope you like it!

narwhalsrsmexy: Love you too~! ;D

Thanks for reading, I hope to see you again!

~OmegaStarShooter14~