A Roxas and Axel bro-time chapter. This was long overdue XD
*~First person to catch the FRIENDS reference gets a free oneshot with their BOC~*
[♥]
For the first time in days, you finally had a nightmare-free sleep.
Sadly, that perfect sleep was punctured when you're haphazardly grabbed by around the ankles and pulled out of bed like a rag doll. Your eyes snap open, likely looking a little like a wild animal, as you glance at your surroundings. You're dangling upside down, your knuckles brushing against the floor.
"Angeal," you whine, recognizing his shoes as you start to struggle free. "Not now, I'm so tired..."
He flips you upright like you weigh less than a pound before dropping you to your feet so he can cross his arms over his chest and give you the most intimidating look possible.
"You wanted my help, right?" he asks quietly, so as not to wake anyone in the room. You sigh before conceding with a nod. "Then go get ready and don't complain."
"Yes, sir," you grumble as you stomp out of the room.
"And drop the attitude!" he hisses after you with a chuckle as you grit your teeth in annoyance.
After brushing your teeth you throw on some running clothes and head out into the kitchen, figuring a shower is pointless right now. Although you could do without the violent early-morning assault, it's not an unpleasant morning. Sleep had wiped away the cobwebs clouding your mind, and you felt a little dumb for actually thinking your dreams were real, or a sign of things to come.
They're just dreams, nothing more...
"Catch," you hear Riku open the second you open the kitchen door.
Naturally, your response is to scramble out of the way as you see something flying right towards you, causing the piece of toast flung your way to hit the ground with a sad 'splat.'
"Nice job," he adds with a laugh as you pick it up and fling it into the trash.
"Who throws food at someone?" you ask with a roll of your eyes as you head towards the toaster to plop your own piece of bread inside.
"Who runs away from toast?" he retorts.
Too tired to come up with a witty retort, you instead reach out your leg and kick him (lightly) in the calf as he walks past you. Without skipping a beat he raises a hand and pulls your hair, smirking as you try (and fail) to trip him before he slides safely into a seat.
"Now, now, children," Reno scolds, trying to act mature as he looks up from his newspaper and takes a sip of coffee. "No fighting."
"He started it," you argue, pointing down at a shrugging Riku.
"I thought she had better reflexes – ow," he trails off with a groan as you 'accidentally' hit him with your elbow when you walk past him with your half-toasted slice of bread. "You're extra fussy today."
"Nah," you reply as you start to spread [whatever you want] over your toast. "I just feel a little more back to normal."
"That's good," Riku tells you with a nod and a smile, watching as you continue to aggressively pile [whatever you want] on your toast.
"Yeah, it's nice seeing you not moping around," Reno adds cheerily.
"... Thanks," you mutter dryly as you glance up at him.
"Oh, you know what I mean."
"Uh-huh," you reply before finally taking a bite. "Hey, did Roxas or Axel come back yet?"
"Nope," Riku responds, sounding unaffected though his aquamarine eyes give away his hidden concern.
You frown as you take another bite, trying not to let your imagination go crazy with everything that could possibly go wrong.
Right on cue, the door leading downstairs suddenly slams open, with a panting Roxas wearing black Organization robes running through. He's glancing over his shoulder down the stairs as the three of you just stare at him with mouths dropped open in shock. After a second he looks forward, jumping in surprise at your presence.
"Oh... Hey, guys," he greets awkwardly, still holding the door open as he starts to rub the back of his head.
"Where the hell have you been?!" you exclaim as you jump to your feet and march towards him. "Do you know how worried I've been? And why are you wearing that?" you add haughtily as you start to begin inspecting him for cuts or bruises.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he quickly tells you, grabbing your hands in his to stop your ministrations. "No need to jump into Mom mode, [Name]."
"Well, then tell me what happened. And where Axel is," you order, narrowing your eyes as a small smile grows on his face.
"He's fine, too. But we, um... We might have done something questionable," he mutters, trailing off as he glances over your shoulder and out the open window.
[24 HOURS EARLIER]
The first thing Roxas notices after the portal begins to dissipate is the smell of salt and the soft sound of sea-birds calling to one another.
So clearly, they're near an ocean.
He doesn't recognize this place, though. He and Axel are standing on a narrow beach, the water gently lapping at the sand in the near distance. On the opposite side of the water is high cliffs covered in moss and grass, with a rather large castle sitting at the very top.
"Hope you brought some swim trunks," Axel speaks up, and the blond glances over at his friend with a frown.
"Huh? Why?" Roxas asks.
"Why do you think? Water-boy lives down there," Axel states with a nod towards the ocean. "And I can't go in."
"Oh, c'mon. Water doesn't burn you," Roxas points out with a roll of his eyes.
"No, but I can't swim. I'll be here," Axel tells him as he leans against a large boulder.
"You're seriously gonna stay behind? This is your idea. Which isn't gonna work, by the way."
"Then why are you helping?" Axel retorts, crossing his arms over his chest. Roxas just stares at him for a moment before glancing out at the ocean. "It'll work. Just go get Demy, and we'll be outta here."
"Fine," Roxas concedes, sighing as he heads towards the water. "... But you owe me."
"Deal."
Roxas shakes his head before he starts to walk towards the water. Just as he's about to summon a spell to safely breathe underwater, a head pops up to the surface just past where the waves are breaking.
"STOP, INTRUDERS! ... Oh, it's just you guys," Demyx realizes with a relieved sigh as he paddles towards the beach. "Sorry, any time an outsider comes to this world, I have to go check it out. It's part of my duties."
"Holy crap, you really are a security guard," Axel realizes with a laugh as he joins Roxas.
"Wha – I'm not a security guard!" Demyx argues with a slight whine before he puffs out his chest. "I'm King Triton's head guard, I'll have you know."
"Congrats," Axel tells him wryly.
"Demy, we need your help," Roxas adds quickly before they can keep bickering.
"... Why?" Demyx asks suspiciously as he tilts his head.
"We need to get into the Castle, and you're the only one who can get us in undetected," Roxas explains.
"What?!" Demyx yelps, his eyes widening in terror. "After I finally got out, WHY would I go BACK?"
"Who's providing you protection to live here in peace, wise guy?" Axel retorts, leaning down a bit to be more eye-level with him as he floats before them. "You never thought I'd come back for some kind of payment?"
Demyx just glances between the two of them a few times before he devolves into a groan, letting his head fall back as he looks up at the bright and sunny sky above.
"Ughhhhhhh... Okay, fine. When?"
"Now. Please," Roxas adds with a smile as Demyx narrows his eyes at him.
"Whoa whoa, wait, you're not even gonna tell me what's going on?" Demyx asks as Axel summons a portal.
"We have less than two weeks to save the universe, and the one person who might be able to help us is being held captive at the Castle," Axel causally explains with a wave of his hand in the air.
"So, we're gonna go get her," Roxas adds, smirking a bit as all color leaves Demyx's face.
"That's, like, a suicide mission," he mutters with a defeated huff.
"Not if we do it fast and smart. So get out of that water and into the portal," Axel states, pointing to the swirling black-and-purple smoke beside him.
"I forgot you two are clinically insane," Demyx quips with a groan, though he does snap his fingers as he's talking to transform his tail back to legs.
"Wait, you're wearing pants, right?" Roxas asks, Axel's face distorting in disgust as Demyx starts to walk out of the water.
"I'm not an animal," Demyx responds, sounding a little offended.
Sure enough, he pops out of the water wearing nothing but some light blue swim trunks. Roxas just stares down at his shorts with a deadpanned expression as Axel starts to laugh.
"Oh man, you'll fit right in at the castle, Demy!" Axel teases, holding his stomach as he slowly shakes his head.
"Shut up," Demyx snaps as he leads the charge into the portal.
"I'm already regretting this," Roxas tells Axel with a heavy sigh, feeling a headache coming on as he watches the Nobody confidently walk into the darkness wearing nothing but a swim suit.
"Hush. We've gotta try, right?" Axel offers, glancing down at his best friend.
A vision of you on the ground gasping for air after being run through by Vanitas' Keyblade enters Roxas' mind, and with a quick shudder he soon nods in agreement.
"Yeah, yeah. We'll try," he concedes, following after Demyx with newfound purpose.
"That's the spirit," Axel replies as he takes up the lead.
Immediately upon exiting the portal, Axel's eyes land on Demyx rifling through a closet on the opposite side of a very small room they transported into.
"Hey, it worked. Guess they stopped blocking us from entering," Roxas realizes.
"Nah. It only worked because Dem walked in first," Axel notes, looking over at Roxas for a moment before he turns his attention to Demyx. "And just what do you think you're doing?"
"Shopping," Demyx replies mockingly before pulling out a long, black Organization robe. "Huh. Size looks about right."
"Good idea," Roxas agrees, walking towards Demyx and picking out his own robe in his size.
"Am I weird that I've missed these?" Axel asks, running a hand down his robe draped over his forearm.
"Yes," Roxas and Demyx both reply dryly before Roxas flips up the hood, covering his face.
"Whatever," Axel mutters as he does the same.
"Maybe old Dem-Dem ain't that stupid after all," Demyx hums to himself with a small laugh, keeping his hood down as he marches towards the door.
Neither Roxas nor Axel reply, causing him to roll his eyes. Not one to dwell, however, he's instantly back to smiling as he hastily opens the door and peeks outside, looking down the left side of the hallway and then the right.
"Coast's clear," he announces in a loud whisper. "So – who are we freeing?"
"Naminé."
"Eh??!!?" Demyx exclaims in disbelief, grabbing Axel's arm and forcing him to a stop. "You're freeing HER? Dude. They'll kill you."
"We'll see about that," he replies haughtily before ripping his arm free and marching down the hall. "Meet you guys in the basement."
"Whoa, we're splitting up?" Roxas calls out after him.
"I have some business to take care of," Axel states, not bothering to expand on that as he makes a left turn and disappears.
"Damn it, Axe," Roxas grumbles before he turns to Demyx. "Guess we should split up too?"
"Yeah, I don't wanna get caught with you. They'll kill me if they found out I snuck you in," Demyx admits with a sheepish grin as he awkwardly rubs his arm.
"... At least you're honest," Roxas responds, rolling his eyes (though no one can see it through the shadows cast off by his hood) as he takes off in the opposite direction of Axel.
There's more than one way to get to the basement, and something tells him now isn't the time to pry into whatever the hell Axel's up to.
[♥]
If Axel had a heart, this is where it would be racing uncomfortably in his chest. It felt so strange to be back in an old pair of robes, meandering through the hallways. And it's not a good type of strange; no, it's a little unnerving. He much prefers lounging around Hollow Bastion, laughing over the constant sheer insanity that goes on amongst the odd little family that's formed.
With a small frown and an adjustment of his hood to keep his face hidden, he can't help but wonder what you're up to. He doesn't want to leave you in the dark about this. But, should the worst happen, you'd never be able to live with yourself if they were hurt while trying to help you. It's just easier this way. You'll forgive him once they're all back, and safe, and Naminé's finally free.
Just as his thoughts start to turn too dark for his liking, he finally makes it to his destination. It feels like he's been walking for at least an hour – and he actually might have, with how large this castle is. He just stares at the closed door in front of him, unsure if he actually wants to step inside or not.
"C'mon, man up," he tells himself, taking a deep breath as he grabs hold of the door handle and turns it.
With a click, the door opens. Axel steps forward, his hand staying on the doorknob as he walks inside the room. It's dark inside, one lone, dim light on the desk lighting the entire room. Sitting at the desk is a ghost of his past, with shoulder-length blue hair and an unrecognizable slump to his shoulders as his pens runs wildly over the paper before him.
At the sound of his door opening Saix pauses and glances over his shoulder, his eyebrows rising slightly when he spots a man in the doorway, his face hidden. Axel sweeps a hand over his head, pulling back to reveal his face and a mess of red hair, earning another tick of Saix's eyebrows.
"You. What are you doing here?" Saix asks boredly, turning back to his notebook as Axel shuts the door behind him.
"That's a pretty tame greeting for such an old friend."
"I don't have time for your games, Axel. I am very busy."
"Lea," Axel corrects, already losing his patience. Saix's pen once again pauses, his eyes locked on the desk. "I said old friend, Isa."
"Oh," Saix hums, placing the cap on his pen before he pushes out his chair and stands to his feet. "You remember."
He turns slowly, fully facing Axel as he clasps his hands behind his back.
"Do you?" Axel asks.
"Yes," Saix admits with a small nod, taking the redhead by surprise. "I do. But, the return of our memories is merely one of the final steps in the process to be completed in less than two week's time."
"You remember everything?" Axel asks, allowing a smile to leak onto his face. "Isa, then why are you –"
"That is not my name anymore," Saix interjects, his voice monotonous and his face expressionless. "I remember, yes. But I reject that version of myself."
"This isn't you," Axel argues, taking a step towards his old friend. "Why are you continuing down this path, following that crazy old maniac?"
"Because – you blind fool – this is the way to get back our hearts," Saix explains, his eyes narrowing slightly. "With Kingdom Hearts fully merged, and the door opened – our hearts will return. You just want to distract me, to save your friends."
The last word drips with so much disgust, Axel actually takes a step back in shock.
"You're included in that."
"Count me out. This is where I belong," Saix tells him before flicking his wrist, which causes the door to spring open. "Enjoy the days remaining, Axel. Forget about me. Try to find some peace."
"Kinda hard to when you're trying to kill people I love," Axel retorts gruffly.
"What, suddenly you grew a conscious?" Saix mocks with a chuckle. "It turns out, in the end, your disobedience does have a price. A high one at that. So much death... Was it worth it?"
"So sure of yourself," Axel notes with a humorless laugh. "Ever think maybe I'm on the right side, and you'll be the one to die instead?"
"No. Now get out of my office," Saix snaps, finally allowing some emotion to leak through.
"You're not ringing the alarms on me being here?"
"Consider it Isa's last present to you," Saix retorts calmly, turning back to face his desk as he glances out the window at the perpetual night's sky. "Goodbye, Axel."
Axel swallows roughly, watching someone he recognizes so well yet looks like such a stranger for a moment before he sighs and starts to walk out the door.
"Yeah," he mutters, grabbing hold of the door. "See ya."
Once the door's shut, Axel leans his back against it, looking up at the bright white ceiling as he releases a pained sigh.
If he had a heart, this is where it would tear just a little bit.
He doesn't have a heart.
So why does he hurt so much, he thinks to himself as he grabs at his aching chest.
[♥]
Demyx is humming happily to himself as he makes his way through the castle. It's not that he's happy to be back, but this place will always be home, in a weird way. Thankfully, he manages not to run into anyone. With it being so early in the morning, they must all still be doing their own thing. Or maybe training? He doesn't really care honestly, he's just glad to be left alone.
"Who are you?"
At the sound of a faintly familiar voice, Demyx comes to a stop and peers over his shoulder.
"Huh? What are you doing here?" Demyx inquires, confused at seeing Vanitas back at the Castle. "I thought you defected."
"Excuse me?" Vanitas asks blankly, standing firm in his place on the opposite end of the hall. "You're misinformed. I don't know you."
"What?" Demyx laughs a bit, wondering if he's playing some kind of a practical joke on him. "You know who I am," he adds, quickly sobering up a bit. "Demyx? Organization member? Dude, I used to live in the room next to yours..."
"Don't know you," Vanitas repeats with a slight shrug, finally walking towards him. "You must be the one who left."
"Yeah. I'm, uh, back now," Demyx states, his eyes flitting around the hall nervously. Something about this Vanitas is making him shrink back in fear, and it doesn't help that he can't even see his face; just his reflection staring back at him. "What happened to you?"
"Nothing."
"Well, that's just not true."
"You calling me a liar?"
"Um..." Demyx hums, taking a step back as he laughs anxiously and holds his hands up in front of his chest. "No? I'm just... surprised. You're acting all weird, like you used to before..."
He trails off, clearing his throat as he realizes he probably shouldn't continue that thought.
"Who else would I be?" Vanitas asks with a tilt of his head.
"I dunno. Someone sure got to you, though. Man oh man..."
"This is pointless. I don't have time to keep talking in circles," Vanitas decides, sighing as he brushes past Demyx to continue walking down the hall.
"Hey," Demyx calls out after him. He pauses, but doesn't turn around. "If you're back here, what happened with [Name]?"
He visibly bristles a bit at your name.
"What about her?" Vanitas asks, glancing back at Demyx.
"I dunno," Demyx responds coyly. "I kinda thought you loved her, honestly. Or at least liked her, like as a little sister or something."
"Guess you didn't get the memo I'm not capable of that. It's Ventus you're thinking of."
"No, it's definitely you," Demyx argues as he places his hands on his hips. "She's your lobster."
"... Are you on drugs?" Vanitas snaps, his patience officially dead and gone. "I don't know her. That idiot does."
"Dunno why you're so defensive. [Name]'s pretty cool. If I had a heart, maybe –"
"Don't you have somewhere to be, Nobody?" Vanitas interrupts, his gaze peering up at the taken-aback blond.
"You're... not telling anyone I've returned?" Demyx asks in surprise.
"Something's telling me I shouldn't," Vanitas responds as he raises a hand, pressing it against his head as he finally sounds a bit more like himself.
"You should listen to that voice more," Demyx suggests.
Vanitas suddenly drops his hand and turns fully forward, picking up the pace as he starts to walk once more.
"Just get outta here. Be glad I'm not in the mood to kill you today," Vanitas calls out before disappearing down the hallway to the left.
"... Yiiiikessss..." Demyx hisses to himself, shaking his head as he follows, turning down the hallway to the right instead of the left. "What'd they do to you, Van?" he adds with a dejected sigh, glancing behind him to watch the man cloaked in black walk away, back to being alone and sociopathic.
The thought makes Demyx a little sad, which is definitely a strange feeling.
He had grown to kinda like him, after all.
[♥]
"Where the hell are those two?" Roxas mumbles under his breath, pulling up the sleeve of his robe to look down at his watch.
He's been down in the basement for at least 2 hours now, waiting for a sign of Demyx and Axel. Each noise has been setting him off, convinced it's someone who's discovered his presence and is ready to kill him. But, so far he's gone unnoticed. It hasn't stopped him from having Oathkeeper clutched in his hand – always prepared, always ready.
A door leading to the lab opens, causing Roxas to jump in shock. He quickly darts behind a partially-opened door, peering out as he hears two pairs of footsteps walking in the opposite direction down the hallway. His jaw just about hits the floor, as he recognizes both people. One is Vexen – not surprising – and the man next to him is none other than Sephiroth. Roxas would recognize that long, silver hair anywhere.
"... the fuck?" he whispers, narrowing his eyes as he watches the duo disappear down the dark hallway.
Since when does Sephiroth work with the Organization?
"Hey."
Roxas grabs onto the door frame, having a (non)heart attack at the sudden intrusion. He glances back at Demyx, sighing in relief.
"God, you scared me," Roxas complains, straightening up as he looks down the hallway anxiously.
It's definitely empty, with Vexen and Sephiroth having exited up the staircase leading out of the basement.
"Sorry," Demyx laughs good-naturedly. "I just had the weirdest conversation..."
"Wait, someone saw you?" Roxas asks as concern grows on his face.
"Yeah. Vanitas," Demyx replies with a small shudder. "That guy went a lil' cuckoo, huh? What happened?"
"Brainwashed," Roxas replies simply. "That's why we're getting Naminé. Her magic made him and Terra lose their minds."
"Sad," Demyx mutters, not sounding very sad at all. "Explains the memory loss, though."
Roxas hums a bit in agreement, trailing off into silence as he spots Axel jogging towards them, his hood down and looking a little shaken.
"I think we should get outta here," he states once he skids to a stop in front of them.
"Why?" Roxas asks hesitantly.
"No reason," Axel replies a little too quickly, earning two suspicious looks. Axel sighs and rolls his eyes. "I ran into Saix, okay? I dunno how long we have until he realizes what we're up to."
"Great," Roxas scoffs, shaking his head as he leads the march towards the key pad on the wall.
"What do you think the password is?"
"Same as before, I guess."
"Yeah," Roxas agrees, punching in 1-2-3-4. Not shockingly, the door springs open with a soft beep. "Morons 'till the end."
"They do make it just a little too easy, don't they?" Demyx muses with a chuckle.
"No complaints here," Axel notes, holding open the door as the other two pop inside first.
He lets the door slam shut behind him, glancing around the lab as the motion-detector lights start to slowly turn on one-by-one. The lab's just as he remembers it – a little creepy, exceedingly clean, and empty.
"So, where is she?" Demyx asks, starting to peek through desk drawers.
"Not in there," Roxas responds with a smirk as he walks through the laboratory to a door leading to the back.
Luckily enough, it's slightly ajar. With a slight push it swings open, revealing a pitch-black room. The second his foot takes a step inside, all of the lights spring on at once. It's a little startling, but he soon recovers and fully heads inside.
"Never been back here before," Axel realizes, following after him.
The room is pretty much empty, save for some cramped holding cells lining the walls. Those also look empty, but they all silently come to the agreement that they should check before heading out. Roxas takes one side, and Demyx and Axel take the other. Each cell is dingy, and looks like it hasn't seen human habitation in ages, if not ever.
Just when he's about to give up, Roxas does a double-take as she spots something out of place in the nearest cell. He takes a step back, pausing as his eyes land on two people inside. Naminé is clearly lying on a bed, unconscious. Her hand is dangling over the edge, grasped tightly in another girl's hands. Roxas' eyes widen in sudden realization before they quickly narrow.
"Please... don't hurt us," a girl who's clearly Kairi begs, scooting away from Roxas.
"Wh... Kairi, you don't recognize me?" Roxas asks, earning Axel and Demyx's attention.
"I-I'm sorry, but I don't know you..." Kairi apologizes, dropping her head in defeat as she closes her eyes, as if waiting for some kind of physical attack to hit her.
"What the hell..." Axel mutters, staring at the two in disbelief as Roxas pulls out Oathkeeper and points it to the lock.
A shoot of light bursts forth, unlocking the door, which swings open. The three boys head inside, Demyx lowering himself towards Kairi as Roxas walks to Naminé. She looks so peaceful, he thinks to himself sadly.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to come back for you, Namie," he whispers, leaning down to grab the girl around the waist.
He picks her up with ease – she barely weighs anything, only skin and bones at this point – tucking his arms under her knees as he hauls her up into his arms. Her head hangs back, completely out of it.
"Who... are you?" Kairi asks slowly as Demyx grabs her hand and helps her up.
"What? It's me, Axel. And you know Dem-Dem, and Roxie."
"I've never seen any of you before in my life," she responds, slowly shaking her head for emphasis. "I... That man, with the long brown hair... He created something, a... replica? She looked just like me... Maybe she...?"
"It's okay," Axel quickly interrupts as tears begin to form in her big blue eyes. "We'll figure it out later. Let's get you guys outta here."
"YOU!"
They all (except for Naminé) turn towards the doorway, where Vexen is standing, doubled over as he pants for air and glares at the five.
"That's him!" Kairi exclaims, instantly losing her nerve as she hides behind Demyx.
"How DARE you!" Vexen yells, pointing at the Nobodies. "Traitors! Barbarians! INTRUDERS!"
Before he can even take a step, the five are swept up into a flash of smoke, disappearing into thin air. He stumbles back, a look of horror flashing over his face as a hand rests over his mouth. Before he can start to panic, he quickly gathers his thoughts, quietly walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him.
"What was that about?" Sephiroth asks from the hallway, having heard Vexen's shouts.
"... It was nothing. A mouse," Vexen lies, locking the door before heading through the lab with a blank expression.
"Odd way to speak to such a small creature," Sephiroth notes with a tone of almost amusement.
Vexen's only response is a scoff.
He should report what happened.
But, with the end so near, and [Na-x-me]'s powers so strong... do they even need Naminé anymore?
So, he stays silent. It's Xehanort's fault this happened anyway - with no protection besides one unlocked door, he's almost surprised it took this long for the girls to be taken away. Why should he take the fall for someone else's negligence?
And somehow the worst thought out rescue mission, manages to succeed.
[♥ ]
@NakoNee-san SOMEHOW called this happening (seriously, how did you correctly guess Demy was coming back to sneak them into the castle? XD) SO, for being the best guesser, I'm hereby offering to write you a free oneshot for the character of your choosing :3 just leave me a comment with the BOC and, if you so desire, a theme~ Good job!!
And yes, Kairi's back. But I like her now so she'll be much cooler ;D