A/N: Absolute monster of a chapter 0_0
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Aerith's powder was effective. For the first time in days, Axel felt actually somewhat human again. The pounding in his head finally let up, allowing him to draw a deep, cleansing breath, closing his eyes and releasing it slowly.
He turned from the sink, still a little wobbly on his feet, and scanned the kitchen, locating Roxas with an awkward locking of eyes and hesitation. Roxas looked… bothered by something, and, after a moment, glanced away. Understandable. Axel bowed his head slightly, knowing it was his own behaviour that had brought this about. Kairi was also watching him, he realised, a worried expression in place, but he wasn't – he wasn't quite there yet. He avoided her, clearing his throat and going to stand beside Tifa, who was busy directing breakfast preparations while she cooked.
"Can I help?" he asked, a little hoarsely. Tifa shot him an assessing look.
"Can you?" she countered, not unkindly. "You might be better off sitting and resting for a bit."
"I wanna help," he mumbled, at which she sighed slightly, then nodded.
"Tie up that hair first," she commanded, her own sleek mane bundled up into a messy bun over her heat-flushed face as she worked the stove. Remembering Cid's complaints about a lack of Tifa breakfast, Axel was beginning to see exactly what the old guy had been grousing about – she wasn't holding back. She had several different courses on the go, in varying stages of completion, directing Cid, Riku, Sora, and Kairi firmly as they prepped ingredients or stirred eggy, pancakey, mixtures. There was a scattering of herb bottles and sauces with their lids uncapped, the smells of savoury, familiar, tasty foods filling the room, and Tifa was moving constantly. It was a controlled sort of chaos, into which Axel dove headfirst, following every instruction to the letter, his hair bundled into a long beanie, happy to keep his hands busy and his mind off darker topics.
Eventually, with everyone in the house now gathered, Leon and even Cloud included, the meal was ready, a spread of dishes set up along the kitchen island like a miniature buffet. Tifa had seriously gone all-out. "Now," she declared, wiping her hands on a dishcloth, looking satisfied with the work, "I'd like to take this moment to congratulate, well, us. We got in and out last night without a single casualty. That's practically unheard of." She smiled broadly at Kairi and Naminé, standing side-by-side. "That's thanks to our new leader, Kairi, and it ended up in us growing our numbers by rescuing Naminé. If there was ever a cause for celebration, this is it."
"Then, we talk," Leon said, tersely, an arm around Cloud, who, though sitting beside him, had vacant eyes. Tifa's smile faltered, but then she was beaming again, albeit with some effort this time.
"Yes, well. Eat up, everyone. And Naminé – welcome." Her smile turned warm again, Aerith applauding softly, everyone else diving for the food.
"I never got a welcome like this," Axel muttered, trying a mouthful of Tifa's cooking, which tasted predictably heavenly. Cid looked genuinely happy for the first time in Axel's entire time with them, while Naminé, looking overwhelmed but pleased, had Sora on one side of her, Kairi on the other, talking her ear off and making sure she got all the best parts of each dish. Sora actually fought off Yuffie to secure the fattest pancake, used his butter knife like a fucking pro, parrying her fork and stabbing it, claiming it for all to witness, before dragging it over to Naminé's plate.
On Kairi's other side, Roxas was quiet, picking at his food absently, kind of… studiously avoiding looking at Axel. Axel knew because he was glancing over constantly, but Roxas just ignored him, focused on either mixing everything on his plate into a flavourless slurry, or responding to direct prompts from the others. He was visibly unhappy, Axel's chest throbbing at the sight, knowing full well that he was the root of it. At a time when they should have all been taking a well-earned win together, there was a splinter of unease. Roxas felt it, Axel felt it; Leon felt it, beside the empty-faced Cloud. Vincent seemed to feel it, his face having taken on that eerily gaunt quality that he adopted any time he was being particularly pensive. Riku noticed it, along with Sora, Kairi, and the others, who spoke more rapidly and brightly, as if to offset their dreariness. Even Naminé seemed uneasily aware that all wasn't exactly sunshine and roses, becoming somewhat subdued over the course of the meal. It was hard to miss the fact that a good half of the group wasn't sharing the feel-good vibes. Cid was the only one who either didn't notice or simply did not care, inhaling his meal with gusto.
Once enough of the food was gone, Leon announced, "All right, meeting in the conservatory." Without waiting for a response, he immediately started helping Cloud off his stool, his small plate of food untouched, and, after a hesitation, the rest of them followed. Clean up could come later, apparently. With a small frown, Axel joined the others in trickling towards the conservatory, with its brightness and warmth. He was acutely aware that Roxas was within reach, but the boy continued to pretend he wasn't there. He wasn't going to be so quick to forgive Axel his latest fuck-up.
With a small sigh, he entered the sun-filled room, where Leon was settling Cloud in a comfortable chair, the silent Cloud turning his blank gaze to the windows, to stare out at the dead garden. Everyone else either found a seat or chair-arm to perch on, Riku's lap in the case of Sora, Axel settling heavily beside Cid, who quickly looked him up and down before glancing over at Roxas, who, on the opposite side of the coffee table on the same sofa as Riku, was leaning away hard from his brother's public display of affection with an irritated grimace.
"What, trouble in paradise?" Cid remarked with a small grin, Axel trying to act like he hadn't heard the fucking wisecrack.
For just a split-second, Roxas actually looked at him, perhaps having overheard Cid, and their eyes caught. Recognising themselves in the other, they almost exchange a wry smile, before Roxas remembered himself and instead grew sullen, breaking eye contact. Axel slouched lower next to Cid with folded arms, ignoring the sardonic snort the man gave.
Leon, once he was sure Cloud was taken care of and everyone was adequately seated, stood up and took focus. "Okay," he said, as grim as ever, as if the previous night had been an unmitigated disaster, "we need to talk. Foremost, this is a meeting for debriefing Naminé, but also there is a…" He hesitated, then glanced at Axel. "A secondary matter to address."
"Secondary how, exactly?" Roxas asked, with an edge that was surprising. Roxas had noticed the look and sounded defensive, which was … unexpected, considering he wasn't even talking to Axel. And if it was regarding what Axel thought it was, then shouldn't he have been on Leon's side? It was going to be about how he'd fucked up again, after all.
Leon's mouth went thin. "Fine, we may as well get it over with, since it's also how we verify Naminé."
"Verify Naminé?" Sora echoed, confused, Naminé looking worried. Beside her, Kairi patted her hand, having evidently taken the girl under her wing since her arrival in the manor.
"I have a theory," Leon said shortly, arms tightly folded over his thick chest, expressionless. "It's one I have thought long and hard about. At first, I dismissed it, but given the events of last night, I believe there may be some merit to it."
"Well, fuck, don't keep us in suspense," Roxas archly demanded. "What's your theory, Leon?"
"…I believe there's a chance that Axel is a plant, and that Naminé being here may be part of Xehanort's overarching plan." As the room erupted, Kairi, Sora, Riku, and Roxas all on their feet, Axel blinked.
"Wait, what?" he asked, incredulously. Sitting up straighter, he said, "I thought this was going to be a dressing-down because I went into God Mode again last night. Why in the fuck do you think that I'm a plant? Because Sephiroth said it one time?"
"Because a Nobody healed you in the middle of battle," Leon answered, flatly.
All eyes were on Axel all of a sudden, except for Roxas, who scoffed angrily, "That's your evidence? Hadn't we already agreed that Nobodies – that Xehanort's puppets are still… people? Demyx is Axel's best friend, that's why he healed him."
"But consider," Cid mused, "if the kid were a plant, and we were none the wiser, he could be passing information back and forward somehow without us knowing."
"Are you both having strokes?" Roxas loudly asked, before Axel stopped him with a hand, grateful for the support, but needing to take this on himself, not only because his reputation was on the line, but because apparently so was Naminé's.
"So, just to get this straight," he evenly addressed Leon, who regarded him warily, "you think that Sephiroth was actually telling the truth that one time, is that right?Is this something that Cloud shared with you afterkicking Sephiroth out?" Leon's silence was all the answer anyone needed. "I didn't think so." Axel was unimpressed. "So because my best friend, during a brief lucid moment, healed me from horrendous steam burns…" His voice took on a huskiness, hands quivering as he recalled the agony, the sensation of his skin peeling. Fuck. He was going to need a therapist when all this was over, if he survived. He forced his fingers into fists to hide the tremble, and forged on. "You think that that means that Naminé is somehow suspect? Lay that one out for us, Leon."
Leon's mouth twisted sourly. "We can't deny that the possibility that it was so easy last night was because it was supposed to be," he stated.
"Oh, so that's your next argument, is it?" Sora shrewdly asked. "Moving right along, are ya?"
"I'm building my case," Leon witheringly told him. "And why are you even here for this? You're barely one of us."
Another outburst, much louder than the first, turned the room into a deafening cacophony, until Cid, losing patience, heaved himself up from beside Axel and went to find the right-sized ceramic pot for his needs, lifting it up and smashing it hard onto the tiles. The sharp noise cut right through the pandemonium, Riku and Sora turning from their agitated positions in Leon's face, everyone twisting in the direction of the noise. The only one who didn't respond was Cloud, who continued to stare indifferently through the window.
Cid, having got the reaction he wanted, tiredly said to Leon in the lull, "Before you manage to alienate just… everyone… why don't you tell us your logic?"
Leon cracked his neck, strained and somewhat impatient. "Look, I'm not – saying that it's true," he said, entirely too late for anyone's liking, "but I think we need to air this suspicion –"
"Your suspicion," Roxas emphasised, openly hostile now that Leon had gone after both of the people he cared about most. "You, Leon. You're the only one who thought it."
"It's not a totally unreasonable line of inquiry, okay, kid?" Cid said, causing Roxas's eyes to narrow. "Just entertain it as a thought experiment, let Leon work it out of his system. Obviously, if Axel's clean…" He lifted his broad shoulders easily. "No dirt will show."
Roxas let out a noise of disgust, but relented, kicking the sofa with frustration before slumping down on it. Riku wasn't done yet, however, his face, close to Leon's, like carved ice. "Say it again," he challenged softly. "Tell us about how Sora's not one of us. The one guy that's truly made a contribution since Ansem…" He stopped, expression pinching as he edited himself mid-sentence, aware that Roxas was nearby. "Sora led us to Naminé. You remember that, right?" he instead bit off. "So that would mean that you're implicating Sora, next, Leon? Who else is in on that conspiracy? Is it Roxas, since he took us there?"
"How did Roxas find it?" Leon asked.
"…Excuse me?" Riku growled.
"I'll second that," Axel harshly interjected, unwilling to fight for himself right now, but perfectly willing to go to battle for others, especially if that other was Roxas.
"Roxas, how did you happen to find that castle?" Leon persisted, having lost almost all credibility at this point.
"I just…" Roxas hesitated. "I said it," he answered, the reasoning sounding… feeble, in the light of day. "I said, 'we just want to find Naminé', and we – we kind of… fell there. Half-fell, half…" He waved his hands restlessly. "Look, the details are hard to explain. You guys don't know what it's likein there when you don't know where you're going. You all just got to fucking… magically turn up there, but me and Axel? We had to find it."
"And there is the start of my issue," Leon swiftly input, gazing around at them. "Not from when Sephirothsuggested it," he added, with an peeved look Axel's way, "but because Axel was there. Axel volunteered to go with Roxas."
"Uh, because I love him?" Axel pointed out, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, before stuttering to a halt and realising that he hadn't ever said it in front of… other people before. Roxas had gone pink, his eyes on his hands, as a short silence fell and Axel grappled for further words. "That is, uh… I mean, he – that's not the first time I've ever said it or anything, just, uh…" He cleared his throat, feeling rather pink himself, trailing off into an inaudible mutter.
Cid, clearly holding back a laugh, turned to Leon, saying, "It's hard to argue with that."
Leon, however, remained unmoved. "You want my logic laid out? Here it is: Sephiroth liked to fuck with us, but he's also a willing part of the cycle. So, what if he wasn't just fucking with us? What if that particular wrench was tossed deliberately, to fuck with Xehanort?"
"So the one time Sephiroth behaves ethically, it's the time that's convenient to your argument?" Riku sounded contemptuous. Leon had made a fucking enemy there.
"…Yeah, I guess so," Leon eventually replied, at least self-possessed enough to admit it, "but if you just think about it for a minute –"
"Like all the minutes you have to think while you're watching over your braindead boyfriend?" Riku taunted, and a second later Leon punched the shit out of him, sending him staggering. There was shrieking from Kairi and Naminé as the pair were suddenly scuffling right in front of them, curses and punches flying, Axel watching the entire thing unfold with something akin to awe. He again caught Roxas's gaze, and this time, the boy didn't look away. Instead, he shrugged slightly, as if this wasn't… totally out of the ordinary. Apparently, occasional fistfights were par for the course in the everyday lives of the gods.
"All right, okay – break it up!" Tifa was trying to get between them before anyone did any serious damage, and after several unsuccessful attempts, puffed out her cheeks in exasperation. She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly, Axel frowning as he became gradually aware that he was – vibrating slightly. Everything was. The whole manor was shaking, dust raining down from unseen heights, the large, broad windows of the conservatory rattling in their frames, until even Leon and Riku noticed that something wasn't totally right, and paused in panting confusion. Tifa, who had been watching them with dark, focused eyes, inhaled and eased off, letting her power fade, the manor settling unhappily in her wake. Sharply, she asked, "Are we good?"
They both resentfully nodded, Riku shooting a deadly look at Leon while wiping the blood from his nose, Leon's expression downright stormy, as if his own powers were just a couple more punches from being summoned. But it seemed that Tifa's ability to crush the fucking house superseded such things, and the pair retreated back to their respective seats, Sora fluttering worryingly over Riku's bruises and bloodied nose, while Leon hung his head between his knees and spat blood onto the floor.
"Oh, come on, that's just gross," Yuffie complained.
"We are absolutely ruining this house," Aerith murmured, looking around with concern.
With a short sigh, Axel asked, "Can I just…?" When Tifa gestured for him to continue, he said, "Okay, let's for a second entertain this notion of Leon's, since I now feel like I need to defend myself or you'll all think I'm some kind of mole."
"Not me," Roxas stated mulishly.
"Nor me," Sora agreed.
"Third," Riku snapped.
"And I appreciate it, but you're all angry, so you're not exactly reliable references right now." Axel's gaze was fixed on Leon, who glared balefully back, the ire mostly due to Riku but intimidating to be the focus of, regardless. "So you're who I need to convince."
"I suppose you do," Leon conceded, voice like gravel, then said, "Sorry, Yuffie," and spat another mouthful of blood. As he wiped his mouth, he glowered at Riku, before returning his attention to Axel.
"Why aren't you angry?" Roxas demanded, one heel jogging restively, slumped beside Riku and Sora. "You're too calm."
Axel considered it, cocking his head. "Because I know I'm innocent, and so do you. So, you know." He shrugged. "Important people taken care of."
Despite himself, Roxas looked pleased by this, but he really wasn't in the mood, and neither was anyone else. "Keep it rolling," Cid drawled.
"All right." Axel held up his index finger. "Point one: Cid." The man found himself abruptly in the spotlight. "You saw me when I went nuts the first time. Who did I attack?"
"Both the Nobody kid, and Roxas," Cid answered.
"Who'd I attack last night, when I lost control?"
"…The Nobody," was his thoughtful reply.
"If I was a plant, that would mean that I was a Nobody, right?" Axel proposed. "But that would mean that I was always in contact with… with Lea." Even saying his name out loud felt… wrong. He disliked it deeply. "And considering his idea of diplomacy is basically King Kong rules, can we maybe agree that me, sitting here, nice and calm right now, could be considered out of character for a guy like that?" He held out a hand for them to see that the air around it wasn't shimmering. "Look. No excess heat or anything."
"So, you don't care?" Tifa sceptically asked.
Axel frowned, leaning an elbow against the edge of the sofa and propping his head up. "Of course I care. I'm being accused of being a spy, as if my entire time with you guys has been a lie. But I'm choosing to approach this like an adult, and maybe not… reduce myself… to a fistfight." He shot Riku an apologetic grimace. "Sorry."
"…No. I'm sorry," Riku muttered, to Leon. "I was out of line."
Leon grunted, then mumbled back, "Yeah, well. I was rude to Sora. Sorry, Sora."
"This is just touching," Cid sighed. "But are we ever gonna resolve this shit? I'm getting bored, here."
"You, however, can go fuck yourself," Axel said, with a raised middle finger, before continuing, "My point is, if I was a plant, why would I attack my own people like that?"
"To keep up the pretence," Leon suggested. "You can't deny that last night went easy."
"Yes! I can!" Axel replied, with exasperation. "Because I don't have much to compare it to! And also, by the way, in case you forgot – it wasn't easy for me." Leon scowled, clearly having been debriefed on Axel's momentary lapse in living, yet somehow remaining undeterred in his suspicion. "Just because things didn't go completely to shit, you're acting like there's gotta be a sinister hand behind it. And, why? To sneak Naminé in? Keeping in mind that it was Sora who first made contact with her? He was drawing pictures of her long before… before things went – tits-up." Axel also found himself engaging in rapid real-time self-editing, swallowing all mention of Ansem's betrayal so that this didn't descend into even more of a fucking circus.
"Since before I woke Axel up," Roxas mentioned, mercifully going along with it.
Leon grated stubbornly, "But if they're working together…"
"To what end?" Vincent asked, speaking up for the first time all morning.
"Look," Sora proposed, "I say we just use me to wake Cloud up for a second –"
"No."
"Just for a second, Leon –"
"No." Leon turned to him. "Sora, I apologise for my earlier comment. You do have a place here, I was being petty. But I don't want Cloud being used like a goddamn rotary phone every time we need to figure out if someone is telling a truth or a lie. I'll just concede, okay?" He held his hands up. "I'm done. You win. I'm satisfied."
"Are you?" Vincent asked. "Because I asked 'to what end', and no one answered me. I want to know the answer."
"…To the end of leading Xehanort to us. To all of us. And wiping us out in one go," Leon wearily replied. "If Axel were a plant, and managed to arrange it so that Sora made contact with Naminé, then only pretended to still be asleep to infiltrate our ranks, maybe Naminé is, I don't know. Like a homing beacon."
Naminé, being spoken about like she was a landmine rather than a person, had a blank look on her face. So much for the warm welcome. "That would mean that all of this was planned well ahead of time," Cid said dubiously. "And I mean, like, down-to-the-line, chess-like planning."
"You don't think Xehanort plays chess?" Leon bleakly countered. Beside him, Cloud twitched. "But, like I said, I'll just concede. Look, I said it already, didn't I? It was a theory. I wasn't decided either way."
"It sure fucking seemed like you were," Roxas bitched. "You're saying you concede, like it's a dignified retreat, like you didn't just make everyone here doubt Axel." He leaned forward and hissed, "Oh, yeah, Leon, it's real big of you to concede that one."
"I apologise," he stiffly said.
"To who? Me? Or Axel?"
Unenthusiastically, Leon looked at Axel, but he already had a hand up, ready to pass it on. "Not me, man. Naminé."
Sighing, Leon turned to the bewildered girl. "Naminé… and Axel. I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions." His head sank, as he muttered, "Maybe – maybe I do have too much time to think."
Cloud gasped slightly, just a moment before all the windows shattered, glass raining across the room. A shadow passed before the sun, Leon throwing himself over Cloud as Sephiroth, the real one, swept past the jagged window frames and into the manor, a single, black wing unfurling as his boots hit the glass-covered tiles. Axel recognised him instantly; there was no mistaking that appearance. Cid was moving from the moment the windows shattered, tipping the sofa over backwards with a bang, sending Axel sprawling. A series of thuds that followed suggested that the others had followed suit, putting whatever they could between themselves and… him.
"Everyone out!" Tifa cried, Sephiroth laughing as they scrambled for the doorway.
"Yes, run!" he called, delightedly, following with long, deliberate steps as they fled. "Make the hunt worthwhile." There was an animalistic element to his tone that was terrifying. He was enjoying himself. Enjoying their fear, the way that Leon, with Cid's and Axel's help, dragged Cloud from the room.
"How the fuck did he find us?" Leon snarled, eyes flashing at Axel.
"Not through me!" Axel bristled. "You think I want that psycho back!?"
"Shut up and move!" Cid commanded, the three of them in the rear, Cloud's heels skidding along the carpet.
They hauled ass as best as they could, the others already scattered through the house, locating their weapons, a true ambush having occurred this time, and it wasn't finished with the surprises. As they rounded a corner, Cid, leading the trio towards his workshop, was suddenly wrenched away – no, flung. He was just – there one instant and gone the next, ripped from Cloud, the violent motion nearly pulling Leon and Axel over. There was an impact, Cid roaring in pain, and when Axel found him again, he was literally pinned to the wall by a long, jagged spear of ice pierced through his shoulder.
"Vexen, you son of a bitch!"
Axel chanced a look around the corner, and saw a wan, long-haired man, his narrow face almost expressionless as he slowly started to drag the water from the surrounding air to form a new javelin.
"Wait here!" he told Leon, then dropped Cloud and sprinted, the man called Vexen frowning at the sight of him, trying to fashion the icicle faster. As Axel tackled him, Vexen sent the premature ice spear into the ceiling as he crashed to the floor.
"Sephiroth incoming!" Leon yelled from around the corner.
"Fuck's sake." Axel raised both arms over his head, hands clasped, and slammed them into Vexen's face, breaking his nose and stunning him. Then, twisting and rising, he stomped all his weight and strength onto the man's ankle, making him scream, before rushing back to Leon and Cid. Cid starting to lose his strength due to the ice, which, in addition to being stabbed right the fuck through him, was starting to creep outwards from the site of impact, Vexen still controlling it, fuelled purely by spite. With Sephiroth indeed heading their way, Axel tried to grab it, only to cry out reflexively as it burned his hands, a layer of flesh remaining behind as he tore himself free. "Motherfucker," he howled, before drawing heat into one of his bleeding hands and pressing it towards the ice.
Leon, with Cloud draped over his back, came over and joined in trying to free Cid, snatching the beanie from Axel's hair, wrapping it around his fist, and starting to punch it repeatedly, to weaken it as it slowly melted. The frost continued spread, Cid starting to hang heavier between that and the excruciating pain, the impacts reverberating through his body each time Leon's protected fist landed. Sephiroth resumed laughing as he casually closed in.
"Just go," Cid wheezed faintly.
"Just go fuck yourself," Axel snapped back, before pulling away, turning to Sephiroth, and summoning the memory of Lea. He hated Lea. He hated touching this memory. But if there was ever a time to lose control and accidentally save the day, it was fucking felt the searing flames licking at his insides, the temperature around him rising. Leon's punches came faster, Cid's consciousness waning, Axel calling deep inside for fire, right up until the point of Sephiroth's long-ass sword came to a rest at his throat.
Axel went still, not even chancing a nervous swallow, as the blade dragged slowly down, until it was positioned over his heart. Sephiroth, eyes unnaturally bright – the colour of the flask of Mako Cid had swiped from Ansem's liquor cabinet – studied Axel with obvious pleasure. "We've been here before, haven't we?" His deep voice was chilling, his amusement a thin veneer over obvious contempt. "But never in person. It's so nice to finally meet you, Axel." The sword twisted almost playfully on his chest, easily making a hole in his shirt, that sharp edge now flush against his skin. Sephiroth's control with his weapon was absolute. He hadn't even made a cut in Axel. Yet.
"I was kind of hoping we never would," Axel grated, Leon using both fists now, hammering against the ice, leaving shred after shred of his bare knuckles on the permafrost.
"Surely you knew it was inevitable?" Sephiroth tilted his head, looking Axel over from head to toe. "You were the only one able to stop me. I never did find out… how." The sword-tip twisted the other way, Axel closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. "You're a god of fire. How is it possible that you were able to move so fast? It was instantaneous."
Axel's head started pulsing. He barely managing to refrain from wincing as the pain abruptly started up again. "I don't… know what you're talking about," he managed to gasp, Sephiroth's eyes narrowing at the strain on his face, "but you were right about one thing."
"Oh?" Sephiroth's head cocked the other way.
Before he could comprehend what was happening, Axel reached up and wrapped both hands around his sword-blade. It melted, flowing through his fingers like liquid mercury, Axel giving a ragged grin. "I'm a fire god, bitch." By the time realisation dawned, Sephiroth's sword had been irreparably ruined, the man flicking it back towards himself, a small sprinkle of droplets showering in its wake. His rage, when it set in, was terrible, but before he could take a step, Leon, with Cloud curled up on the floor, moved into his path, crackling with the energy he had been on the brink of pulling into his earlier fight with Riku. Axel's fine hairs stood on their ends as the air changed, became charged. Taking his cue, Axel spun and clamped his scorching hands right around the base of the icicle stabbing Cid, forcing them through like he was reaching through rock, chanting, "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, holy fuck, c'mon."
"I know you," Sephiroth murmured at Leon. "You're the lover." His upper lip curled derisively."You really think you can keep me from Cloud?"
"I'll keep you from Cloud every day of the goddamn year," Leon stoutly replied, hands forming fists, electricity sparking off his skin.
Sephiroth sneered. "Look at you. You're so weak it's pitiful."
"Maybe. Compared to you." Leon scanned him with a critical, practiced eye. "But there is one thing I picked up from last night." He brought his fists together in front of him, and, with just a nudge, formed a long, crackling spectre of a gunblade. When Sephiroth advanced with a roar, Leon wound up, and drove it straight through his attacker. Sephiroth was down, like you would be after being tased from the inside.
His hands cold now, and wet, Axel broke the last of the ice away, brittle from Leon's assault, and grabbed Cid. He pulled him off the wall, waking him up enough to bellow directly into Axel's face, his blood pouring like they'd tapped a fucking keg. Leon buried a packet of Aerith's cure directly into the wound, paper and all, commanding "Move!"
Axel didn't have to be told twice. Sephiroth was already rising, swaying back up onto his feet. Shouldering Cid like Leon had done with Cloud, he pressed a hand to the wall, dragging it downwards and setting it alight using that slight friction as a reagent. "Go, go, go!" he urged, the pair hurrying away as the flames quickly spread, blazing with unnatural intensity, Sephiroth's bellows of surprised pain and fury the only part of him able to follow behind them.
They passed the kitchen, Leon calling through the doorway, "Anyone in here, follow me now! We are performing a full evacuation!"
Aerith, Tifa, and Kairi popped up. No sign of Roxas. "Tifa, take Cid," Axel said, as she came over. Startled, but complying, she accepted the burden, Cid dipping in and out of consciousness as the cure started to mend him from the inside. "I have to find Roxas," he told Leon.
"We still don't know that you didn't cause this!" Leon barked.
"Oh, come on!" They were interrupted by Kairi's exasperated exclamation. "Leon, use your head for half a goddamn minute, and Axel – go."
He nodded, not waiting for a second opinion. Kairi had been voted leader, and Leon could suck on that as Axel ran through the increasingly smoky hallways to his and Roxas's bedroom. The door was ajar, Axel bursting through with Roxas's name dying on his lips as he saw the room was vacant. Shit. Roxas had been and gone; his twin blades had vanished, along with some of his belongings. He had clearly had the same idea as Leon – Xehanort knew where they were; they had to flee. Axel went to his own small collection, grabbing his violin in one hand, hauling up his chakram with the other, before heading back out into the increasingly harsh air. The manor was burning, his fear for Roxas increasing, since now he had personally made this whole situation just that bit more difficult.
"Roxas? Roxas!" He jogged through the sprawling house, calling his name, before emerging out into the foyer and freezing at the sight that met him. "…Demyx?"
Golden-eyed, Demyx turned just his head. He had been beaten black and blue, as had the shorter man beside him – Zexion. Zexion had summoned three of the abominations from last night, which currently twisted and writhed in place while keeping Riku, Roxas, Sora, and Naminé backed into a corner. "Axel." Demyx seemed to taste his name as it left his mouth, Zexion's swollen expression quirking slightly downwards.
Riku and Roxas each had their blades out, bloodied with the darkness they had managed to carve out of their inhuman opponents. "What are you doing, Dem?" Axel asked, a pleading note to his question.
"I'm killing Ventus!" he happily replied. "Then, you can forget about these people and come with me, like you should have from the start."
"That's not how it's gonna work, Dem," Axel warned him. "If you touch Roxas, I will never forgive you. I will have lost my best friend." His voice caught as he added, "I'll lose both my best friend, and the love of my life. So please. Don't do it."
Demyx's face darkened. "…You only feel that way for now. Once you come back with me –"
"I'll never come with you, Demyx." Axel said it so straight-forwardly, Demyx was momentarily taken aback. "This house is burning. I'll walk right into the fire. It's where I belong without the two of you."
Demyx hesitated. "I'll save you. I'll – I'll put out the fire."
"I'll self-immolate if I have to."
Demyx's eyes flared. "I'll douse you. I won't let you burn."
"For the rest of your life?" Axel bluntly retorted. Demyx looked torn, half-furious, half-flustered. They both knew he couldn't keep Axel from doing whatever the fuck he wanted. But then, the gold in his eyes intensified, an unfamiliar snarl twisting his features.
"Then I'll keep you locked in water." His voice was… ugly. Rough. "It doesn't matter if you hate me. It doesn't even matter if you die. For the rest of your life… you'll be mine."
Axel felt his heart crack, which was when, beyond Demyx, beyond the Nobodies and the monsters, beyond absolutely everyone at the back of the group, Naminé reached for Roxas, placing a hand on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. In the next moment, he dropped hard to his knees. Axel's look of shock made Demyx glance over, as Roxas began to convulse, eyes rolling, his swords dropping from his slack hands.
"N-Naminé?" Sora had also turned, sounding small, fearful, as the air around Naminé began to warp and bulge. Did this mean – that Leon had been right about her? She was in league with Xehanort, after all?
But a look at Demyx said otherwise. His swelling madness had been cut through by this turn of events, audible as he asked Zexion, "What the fuck is happening?"
Riku turned on Naminé with confusion, his sword still up, but wavering, uncertain now. "What are you doing to Roxas?" he demanded.
She opened her eyes, which glowed white. "Everything will be all right," she gently said.
Then, with a small breath, she reached out with her mind. Axel felt it. He felt a hand on his shoulder, just like Roxas had, but rather than fall to his knees, Axel watched as the world… delicately unstitched at the seams. He was pulled inexorably backwards by that invisible hand, into the darkness, into negative space. For a long, breathless moment, he hung there, and saw out of the corners of his eyes that he was not alone: everyone was here, in various stages of smokiness or battle. Everyone but the enemy.
Then, with a blinding burst of light from Naminé, a world started to swirl into place, right there in the darkness. It pieced itself together around them, beneath them, like blocks in a puzzle swarming to complete an image. Axel felt the ground before it was finished forming, able to inhale at long last, sitting to look around in wonder as an entire town was willed into existence. Cobblestones, buildings, stairs, archways, streetlamps burning in the darkness – all of it fitted neatly together, like it had always been there, until you couldn't tell anymore that it hadn't.
When Naminé was done, she exhaled slowly, face creased with concentration, and a moment later Roxas roared back to life, snatching up his swords and lunging to his feet, putting distance between them before turning, brandishing them wildly in her direction.
"What the fuck did you just do?"
Naminé, however, slumped to the ground, a loud tutting from behind them causing them to whirl, faced with a transparent, blue-tinted young man, who pushed a lock of unruly hair behind his ear and regarded them all with… wry amusement. "Well, well, look who decided to finally turn up." Looking at Naminé on the ground, he sighed, "You really can't get good help these days."
"Who the fuck are you?" Axel demanded, getting to his feet, the others who could doing the same. Sora stepped closer to the apparition, holding out a hand to pass through him.
The boy chuckled at having Sora's hand in his stomach. "Hey, that tickles!" When Sora snatched his hand back, he scoffed, flipped his head, and said, "That was a joke. I can't feel anything. I'm a hologram."
"A hologram?" Leon asked weakly, clearly wondering what fresh hell this was.
The young man answered, "I prefer 'Joshua'. Welcome to Traverse Town, reincarnated gods." He gave a self-satisfied smirk. "Xion sends her regards."