One of my favorite chapters and my second favorite, the emotional conclusion of Ivory Twins.
Warning: Implied nakedness, wish of ripping of vital body parts and character death
Chapter VI Part 2: Ivory Twins II
Normally, Roxas is pretty outgoing, happy and fun, a bit of a temper, but nothing too brutal, lately though and ever since his friend Axel left, he's been nothing but a jerk, and he knows it too.
The young blonde sighed out loud, annoyed, pissed or whatever you want to call it, he just didn't feel right. And while it was true he missed his best friend, the worst part came when he went to sleep; dreams and nightmares about a place he has never been in, with people he doesn't know, but the worst part of it all is that Axel is in every one of those dreams, asking for help, to let him out of somewhere and asking Roxas for help.
"They're just dreams…right? They don't mean anything…still…I just…can't help but feel they're real somehow…" he groaned and scratched his head, he was getting a headache "Maybe some sea-salt ice cream would help…" he smirked, feeling slight joy; Sea-salt ice cream, a blue ice cream bar that was sweet and salty at the same time, his favorite, and it was the first thing he and Axel shared as kids when they met "Now it's just a painful memory…I blame myself…"
It's been at least a week since he left, without a word, and Roxas blames himself for it, they had had an argument the day before he disappeared, he had fought Axel on these things before, but this time it exploded.
~o~
Roxas was furious, he could feel the people whispering and they looked at him as if he had a second head growing out of his neck, he walked as fast as he could, he knew where he'd be.
He climbed the clock tower and found Axel there, at the top, looking over the town, smiling over at a burning building, an incident which the redhead had caused.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Roxas yelled and Axel looked back casually.
"Hey Roxy…" he sounded stoned.
"You're drunk!?" he yelled again "What is wrong with you?!"
"Aw, come off it Roxy…I'm just having some fun…" he giggled "Besides, those bastards deserve it…impounding my car for no reason…they just wanted to…um…to…to…what was my point again?" he broke into a laughing fit then.
Roxas growled and went back inside, Axel following.
"What are you so mad about? They'll live! It's just a tiny fire…hic…"
"Tiny!? You almost burned down an entire block!"
"You know…I don't need this shit from you, I get enough crap from Reno…" he took a breath and then looked at his friend through red, puffy eyes "I thought you were my friend!" Axel suddenly snapped.
"I am your friend! But if you keep pulling stuff like this you'll end up hurt! Or worse…and…I couldn't stand that…" he looked down, a sob escaping him, but he wouldn't let himself be rattled "You're sick Axel…always picking fights, smoking, drinking…I know your house isn't all that great, but…you shouldn't try to kill everything off for it!"
"How the hell would you know!?" Axel yelled back "You with the perfect little life, the sister, the CARING, UNSELFISH MOTHER WHO ISN'T CALLED A WHORE BEHIND YOUR BACK EVERY 5 SECONDS!" he yelled, fire seemingly spilling from him.
"Axel…" though to Roxas the young man of tall red hair and peridot eyes was harmless, he always feared his temper, and now was one of those time, adding the fact that he's drunk isn't good.
"Don't preach…cause I ain't listening…" he took up another cigarette and was about to light it when Roxas knocked it out of his hands, and out of anger Axel pushed the boy to the ground and was about to pounce on him when he saw his face: shock and fear "…R-Rox…I…"
"No…" the boy sobbed "…You're sick Axel…you're…please…" he blubbered.
"You're right…I'm nothing but trouble…nothing but a big-ass failure…" he sighed, then hiccupped; he took the boy's hand, though he was reluctant and gave him a tight hug "You're the only good thing in my life Roxas…I don't want to screw this up…so…I'll be seeing you…" he left a small smoke and alcohol filled kiss on the smaller boy's head and left "See ya Roxy" he said, leaving the clock tower's last floor.
Roxas fell to his knees and sobbed, he couldn't believe how bad it had gotten, he couldn't believe how Axel reacted, and the thought of him leaving was…unbearable.
~o~
"It's my fault…" Roxas mumbled, walking through the central park, Twilight Square, he saw all the kids with their kites, couples holding hands, and two friends simply chatting the day away, it made his emotions well up again "…Axel…why did you leave me? I need…" he sniffed "…I need to tell you how sorry I am…" he walked toward to a group of trees and sat down on its trunk, taking a deep breath "Reno didn't even care though…"
~o~
Roxas was out of breath and even crawling up the steps of the apartment Axel and his brother Reno lived in. "Too…many…steps…" he thought.
He took a deep breath and walked to the door and knocked on it, now answer until the fourth.
"Oh…Roxas…" Reno said, surprised.
"Is Axel here? Is he ok?" the smaller boy asked, looking at the almost exact twin to Axel, only his red hair was long and straight, unlike Axel's which was practically everywhere.
"Um…well…" he sighed "…He's not here, he…left…"
"What?!" Roxas yelled, his eyes going wide "What do you mean?!"
"I…went to his room, his stuff is gone, there's no note, and he just disappeared…"
"Did you even try to stop him!?"
"I was sleeping…" Reno answered, annoyed "…get over it Roxas, you know that little brother of mine is a ticking time bomb, you're better off without him…OMF!" Reno yelped as he felt Roxas fist connect with his stomach, hard.
"Bastard!" Roxas sobbed "And you call yourself family? You don't even care!" he yelled once more, running out, downstairs and out of the building.
~o~
"I haven't seen him since…" he sighed once more, back from his trip down memory lane, and seeing Sora, with a new friend, both of them smiling, it made it worse, he'd have welcomed Riku a little bit more if he weren't so angry.
"…He's probably living it up somewhere…" he sniffed once more, but groaned, he was tired of crying, of feeling guilty "…I hope he's all right…please…if there really is a God out there…please…watch over Axel…he has a temper and can be a little off but, he means well, he's caring and appreciative, attentive and…and…" he sighed, he didn't want to think anymore, he wouldn't, Axel wasn't here anymore, no need to keep dwelling on what could have been.
Roxas leaned back and sighed once more, letting the cool breeze and its sound on the leaves and let it rock him to sleep, the red head still clear in his mind.
~o~
Roxas opened his eyes slowly, but what he saw wasn't the park, it wasn't that at all, and he couldn't feel anything, he couldn't move, and all of a sudden…
"Let me out damn it! You people have no right to keep me here!" a familiar voice echoed through a white room, cushioned everywhere, a single bed in the room.
For the past week or so Roxas has had dreams where he's not in control, it's as if he's looking through another's eyes, but it's always barely audible or visible, but right now, it was so crystal clear, he could hear his best friend's voice and apparently see what he sees, but he had no control, he felt helpless, so useless, but: is it real or not?
Pale hands pounded on the cushioned door, clawed at them and kicked them. The faceless voice groaned, pissed, sad, wanting to get out. "Where is he?" Roxas thought, his friend apparently not hearing him. Axel fell back on the bed and sighed, cursing his luck "Damn that Reno…damn him and Shinra…I'll kill him if I ever get out…" This surprised Roxas, he'd thought he'd just left, but no, his brother and Shinra have something to do with his leaving, but what?
Roxas felt himself bolt up from the bed suddenly; a man with long dread-locked hair came inside, a smirk on his face.
"You again? What do you want?" Axel asked, annoyed.
"I heard your racket, the Professor finds it amusing, he loves a challenge, but you annoy me…so shut up" it was Xaldin, Hojo's retainer.
"Yeah, yeah, go suck your master's…" that was his last word, as Xaldin grabbed him by the neck, cutting all air, he felt dizzy and Roxas felt it too.
"I won't take your insolence, but you're invaluable to Hojo, so I suggest you keep yourself alive, at least until he's done with you, that way he'll spare us his wrath…" he threw him strongly against the cushioned wall, which felt more like bricks with the force used by the brute who laughed loudly as he left.
"Damn…What I wouldn't give for a smoke…" he sighed, crawling to his bed and sitting beside it "…Which truthfully I'll trade for a last day with Roxy…" he smiled, chuckling "…I'm delusional…I'm never getting out…" he stretched his limbs, his scrawny, stick-like body cracking slightly "…The saddest thing is…I still hope I will…" he then chuckled darkly.
"Axel…I…" Roxas sniffed, he felt his friend's feelings, he felt anxious, nauseous, a feeling of dread and fear filled him, and also a deep longing for warmth, and to Axel, Roxas was that warmth.
"Hm?" Axel sat up and looked around, he knew he was being watched but he never heard anyone before "Is someone there?" he asked, no one answered "…Must be the drugs…" he scratched the back of his red mane of hair.
"You can hear me?" Roxas said, surprised and happy at the same time.
"Roxas?!" Axel jumped and looked around "…I have to be going nuts…I'm hearing Roxas now…" he mumbled.
"You can really hear me? Axel!" he yelled; Axel's head pounded, he felt slightly dizzy "Sorry…" the voice of his best friend whispered in his head.
"So…figment of my brain…who are you?" Axel asked casually, though really he wanted to break out into laughter.
"It's me! Roxas! Don't you believe me Axel?" he said, pleadingly.
"Hmm…" he smirked playfully, Roxas felt the shift of emotion in himself too "…Then tell me something only the real Roxy would know…"
"…Well…those tattoos on your face you got on a dare…you cried when you got them and you promised me not to tell…you also have a scar on your…"
"Whoah! Ok! I got it!" he laughed out loud, blushing slightly "So…are you really my Roxas?" he asked shyly.
"…Yeah…" the 'voice' answered, flustered at the word 'my'.
"This is totally weird…" he sighed, falling on the white bed "…but I don't care…I got my wish…I guess that means…" he frowned and drew a shaky breath.
"Axel?"
"Never mind…how are you?" he asked.
"Me?! I should be asking you! Where are you!?"
"Hmm…well…In a white room…" he stated.
"I can see that…" the blonde stated flatly, Axel felt Roxas' annoyance; he only wished he could see his face.
"I don't really know…but since they're throwing around Hojo's name, I'd guess I'm at the Shinra building…"
"Why?" he heard Roxas ask, concerned.
"…I have no real idea…something about an experiment…ask Reno, that two-timing bastard should know…" he said bitterly.
Axel, felt Roxas' silence, and he opted to make the mood better, remembering the old days.
~o~
Hojo entered the room adjacent to Axel's room, it had a window that looked into it, but Axel couldn't look back and it had a panel, which recorded not only Axel's voice, but his heart condition, the 'treatment', and the amount of light his heart emanated. He raised an eyebrow curiously as he saw the boy talk animatedly to himself "What's going on?" he thought to himself; he had hoped for some amusement.
He sat down at the panel, and his eyes widened until it hurt, his own dark heart leapt, he couldn't believe it. He called his retainer, Xaldin, and the SOLDIER leader, the man in the bandana, to the room.
"Did you see this?" he asked, excitedly.
"What?" Xaldin asked, the other man moved over to the panel, his own eyes widening.
"Is this even possible?" he breathed out, what he saw was the light-meter that is installed on the panel, it read far more than anything they had before, it shone brightly, almost menacing to leave an on-looker blind.
"It's inconceivable!" Hojo expressed "A single heart cannot expel this much light, no matter how pure a person claims to be!" his blood dance in his veins, he wanted to dissect him now even more "This new Specimen VIII proves to be far more interesting than the brother…" he cackled on, as he always did, the man in the bandana looked over to the window as Axel smiled and laughed, he seemed to be talking, but to who? Then it hit him: "A second heart…a connection to someone else…" he thought, remembering something he had heard before.
"Do you want me to prep him?" Xaldin asked.
"No, not yet, let me observe him a little longer…" he smiled devilishly, and the other men opted to leave, they didn't share Hojo's perverse tastes.
~o~
"Aw c'mon…you looked nice in that pumpkin costume when you were 7…" Axel smiled.
"Shut up…" Roxas said, embarrassed.
"Or how about the time when I told you you'd turn blue if you kept eating so much Sea Salt ice cream?"
"…I remember, you made me cry you dolt, I was only 9…but…you said you were sorry and promised to make it up to me…" Roxas smiled, and Axel could feel it, but again, he wished to see it, more than anything.
"And I did, didn't I?" he smirked.
"What was it? Oh yeah! You painted yourself blue and danced like a maniac, you told me you lied but if I turned blue you'd do it too" Roxas laughed, he hadn't laughed the whole time Axel was gone, he missed laughing, he missed Axel, but then reality set in "…I…I won't be able to see you anymore, will I?"
"Why do you say that?" he said normally, but inside he knew, he knew he'd never get out of there.
"No one comes out of Shinra's hands…at least not alive…or sane…" the blonde stated.
"…Roxas…" Axel then blinked "Hold on…" he muttered, annoyed, he sat up and crossed his legs, he felt watched, meaning Perverted Hojo was on the other side of the wall in front of him "Screw you, fire crotch!!" he yelled, flipping the man the bird; Hojo laughed and turned on the speaker: "My dear boy, if you wish to rattle me you'd better find a more clever way to do so, all you're making me want to do is…well…" he then chuckled that eerie chuckle, that perverted yet maniacal chuckle, it even made Roxas want to lurch "…In fact, I think I will" the then turned off the mike.
"Hey!" Axel yelled, stunned "Do what?!"
"Axel…"
"Ah shit…Ima get raped…I don't want to be raped! Especially by that old fart who probably hasn't had a hard on in…ever…" Roxas laughed, but was worried.
"Hello" Xaldin slammed the door open with an evil smirk on his face "Do you know what today is?" he asked.
Axel looked away and smiled "Pudding day?" he asked, Xaldin held his vice grip on Axel's neck once more.
"Time for your operation…" he announced.
Keeping the redhead in his grip, he put him on a stretcher and strapped him in, putting him to sleep immediately "Good night" he said, before smacking him unconscious.
~o~
"Axel! Axel wake up!" Roxas' voice echoed through Axel's head, giving him a slight migraine. He managed to open his eyes, he was strapped to a cold table, he felt the coldness of the room all over his body, his pale and skinny body for all to show, his member limp in its place.
"Well, we shall finally move on to the final stage…" Hojo stated, all of the protective garments on, Vexen next to him, trying to pry his eyes from the red pubes.
"Damn it…can't there at least be one cute nurse…" the redhead thought in disgust, he had a mask on his face which fed him air and his body felt numb.
"Are you going to use anesthesia this time?" Vexen asked.
"Like I said before that chemical makes it harder for anything to grow, it stops everything, so to answer your question Number IV, no, I won't" the man stated coldly, though Axel did feel numb, maybe Xaldin did him a favor, or…the man with the blue eyes that looked down on him with concern as he put a few needles on his arms and chest.
"This is as far as I go…" the man of blue eyes said, leaving.
"Heh, no stomach for the sciences…" Hojo mocked "Let's begin…"
Two tubes came down from the ceiling, one was filled with a small number of the remaining Jenova cells from a small number of geostigma victims that Hojo 'recovered', and another pitch black; pure darkness inside.
"First the Jenova cells…" Hojo said, Vexen took out a small tube out of the large container and stuck it in the needle on Axel's left arm; his eyes grew wide and he let out a muffled yell, he was in intense pain, he could only hear Roxas in a muffle, his peridot eyes seemingly glowing.
"All right, next the Mako bath…" the man ordered, Xaldin opened a large tube on top of Axel and out poured a large amount of the green liquid in the form of a gas; all other's, except Axel left the room for at least 20 minutes.
At the top of the medical room was a watcher's room, a room with a glass that looked into the operation was there, Specimen's XI and XII were there.
"Gosh…What I wouldn't give to…" the man with the pink hair and blue eyes sighed, a little fantasy formed in his head.
"That scrawny little thing? You'd probably break him…" said the girl of short blonde hair, two antennae sticking out, she also had blue eyes "…Thing is though, he kind of reminds me of someone, makes me want to rip them right off…" the man next to her winced at the thought.
"Shouldn't you two be elsewhere?" the man in the bandana came in.
"Oh relax, we're just here to watch the show…" the girl said nonchalant.
"Though…" the man was already next to the covered man, leaving a trail with his fingers with his hand "…if you offered me a little something I'd go peacefully…" he smirked, getting a kick to the head from the girl.
"Don't mind him, he's just hormonal…" she smirked.
"Larxene!" the man shrieked "My beautiful face! You almost damaged it!"
"Give it a rest Marluxia, you know I have more balls than you do" she laughed.
"Why I outta…" he growled.
"Enough!" Hojo came in "You two! Go tend to the one's in the basement, are we clear?" the other two straightened out and muttered a yes sir, before running out quietly "They might be odd, but they're powerful, surprising for a woman though, so many hormones and such, but this one, so much rage inside of her…" he smirked "…It's quite the show…" he sighed, fixing his glasses "Well, back to work…" he said casually.
The man with the bandana glared at Hojo, who knew such an unstable man could be so brilliant yet moronic at the same time?
"Now…insert the Fire materia" the scientist ordered, Xaldin did as he was told and struck Axel's chest with it, his eyes almost dropping out of his eye sockets.
"His vitals are decreasing sir" a nurse said.
"Yes, yes, he'll be fine" he told her, the wound healing quickly, Xaldin smirked at the young man.
"Axel…I…" Roxas sobbed, he felt Axel's pain, his agony, his desperation.
"Don't say anything Roxy…it's ok…don't worry about me…I'll be fine…" though in his heart he knew it was a lie "Do me a favor Roxas…"
"Anything!"
"Go to Reno and get some answers, I bet Zexion would love to help you out…"
"What about you?" he asked.
"Well…I think I'll take Hojo to hell with me…" Roxas felt the smirk in Axel, he meant what he said.
"What!? Are you crazy!? Axel! I just found you again and…" Roxas was cut short, as a light blinded him, when he opened them he saw he was himself again, but he was nowhere near Twilight Square.
~o~
Everything was pitch black, except for the floor: a glass stained floor, with a giant Roxas painted on it, an almost faded Axel next to him, a weird white symbol and what looked like a key with a circle with spikes in the center.
"Where am I?" the blonde asked himself.
"I have something for you…" a familiar voice said, the redhead stood a few feet away from Roxas, standing tall with his favorite clothes on, faded jeans and a t-shirt that said in a loud red color 'Bite me'.
"Axel!" Roxas smiled, which made his friend smile.
"I missed that smile…" he said, truthfully "…but…there's not much time…this body of mine won't hold out any longer…my heart can't bear this torture…"
"What?! No!" Roxas yelled "You can't…you can't leave me! Not before I…"
"Here already" he chuckled; a light drifted from Axel to Roxas, filling the boy with warmth, he looked back at the redhead, baffled "My heart…it's always belonged to you, Roxas…"
"You…" Roxas shook, and balled up his fists, angry and distressed.
"I'm sorry I made such a mess of that day, I wish I could take it back but…"
"No!" Roxas cut in "You don't get to do this! You don't say you're sorry! I do! You don't tell me you're leaving! I have to ask you to come back! And…and…I…" he sobbed.
"I'm sorry…" Axel looked down, ashamed to meet those blue eyes that captivated him every single time "…See you in the next life…" he said before disappearing.
"Axel!" Roxas yelled to the void, everything going black.
~o~
"Administer the darkness…" Hojo ordered.
"All right…" Vexen breathed out, annoyed, he knew the procedure already, Hojo just loved the sound of his voice; he was about to administer it when the nurse cut in.
"Sir, the heart monitor…it's stopped…"
"What!?" he yelled "Isn't that stupid machine beeping? He's fine!"
"The 'Hikari' monitor sir…" she said, Hojo looked at her in disbelief and ran to the machine, it read zero.
"How can this be!? It was shining brightly minutes ago!"
"Heh…" Axel breathed out "...have you ever…" he heaved, dark circles forming in his eyes "…heard the…" he huffed "…expression…if you play with fire…" he choked "You'll…get burned?" the doctor's looked on in disbelief, the darkness swirled inside Axel, as did the Mako and Jenova, which would explain his new strength, but, with no light in the first place he should be "…Commit it to memory…you…weak-minded old fart…" he then focused on the materia and felt the surge of fire inside, he let out a yell as a giant explosion of flames burst out of him and blew up the room, a window outside the building breaking, glass falling to the ground below.
~o~
"Axel!!" Roxas yelled out, now awake and back in at the park.
He looked around frantically and saw the explosion and the fire at the building, running as fast as he could toward it.
~o~
Vexen coughed loudly as he appeared inside the room again; using a dark portal he had escaped the blast. He looked to his right and saw Xaldin, who used his power of Wind to shield himself and Hojo, though anyone one else wasn't that lucky.
"What the hell happened!?" Hojo yelled once more, feeling sluggish and slightly burned.
"It seems…the experiment was a failure…" Vexen said, amused.
"Not quite…" said a new voice.
All three of them looked on, as a man who sometimes haunted Hojo's dreams appeared in front of him.
"I have a message for you…'Father'…your day of reckoning is coming…wait for it…" the man with pale green mako eyes and long silver hair said.
"Y-You…b-but…you're supposed to be dead!" the shriveled man trembled "Sephiroth!"
"Wrong again…though close…" the man smirked "You were always a fool Hojo, shall always be…but honestly…who'd want a father like you? One who admonishes and tortures his children…they'll come back to give you your 'love' back one day you know…" he told him, a cattish grin on his face, Xaldin tried to attack but those cat like eyes pierced through him like ice; the former hero bowed and all the smoke concentrated unto him, leaving only Axel's body on the ground, full of smoke and soot but nothing else.
Hojo shook were he stood, he never believed in magic, in omens and such, only in hard cold science, but this, this was too much.
"Get him out of here" Vexen said "And bring me another machine, I'd like to check something…" Xaldin nodded and left with Hojo; a new nurse came in with a machine.
"The Jenova cells were destroyed… and the darkness swirls inside in an empty body…with no heart to devour this is an utter failure…" Vexen was puzzled, this had never happened before "Intriguing, but a waste of time…toss it out" he told the nurse, the head of security happened to over hear and offered to do it.
"It has to be done quickly and in secret, allow me" he told him, Vexen nodded and left, going straight to his office to write this all down.
~o~
The man put a black cloak on Axel and gently put him in a bag, stuffing him in the back of his car. He knew someone would find a use for Axel, but not here, and soon, they might even enlist the young redhead's help, but for now, he needed to keep him safe. As he rode out of the underground parking lot, he saw a blonde with similar blue eyes to his run toward the building.
"…I see now…" the man thought "It's doable after all…" he sped up the minute he found the time to, heading south.
~o~
"Let me in!" Roxas yelled, grabbing the iron gates to the building "Axel!" he cried out "Let me in! I have to see him!" he kept yelling, he felt a familiar hand tug at him as he kept crying out for his friend desperately.
A/N: Roxas also likes reviews, and Axel likes Roxas...O.o...