Angsty oneshot. What if, instead of Saïx being the one to try to stop Roxas as he tried to leave the castle, it was Axel?

Axel leaned against the blindingly white wall, his arms crossed over his chest, his head staring down at his feet. He had positioned himself next to the only accessible door out of the castle, partly following orders and partly for his own benefit. He heard footsteps and knew exactly who it was, though he wished desperately that he was wrong.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" He asked quietly, not looking up.

Roxas nodded. "I can't stay here any longer. I want to know who I am...what I'm doing here, and why. Xion's gone, and you won't tell me the truth. There's no one I can trust."

The words stung. Axel closed his eyes, willing himself not to lose his temper. "Roxas, you know you can trust me. I was only trying to protect you and Xion. And I told you--"

"You told me Xion's a puppet. How could you say a thing like that?" Roxas snapped, his eyes narrowing. "And you attacked her before. She's your friend, she's never done anything to hurt you, and you're treating her like garbage."

Axel pushed himself off the wall and glared down at the younger boy."I've always been there for you two. From day one, I was always the only one in the Organization who actually gave a shit about both of you. I attacked Xion to save her from being hunted down and erased." He snarled.

"Why do you care, Axel?" Asked Roxas, raising his voice. "After all, I'm just a dumb kid that Saïx asked you to babysit. And you know, Xion's just a puppet." Roxas laughed bitterly.

Axel clenched his fists and tried to remain calm, but it was getting harder and harder to do so. "You asked for the truth, and I gave it to you. Xion is just a replica, an experiment of Vexen's." He tried to explain, his voice raising as well.

"I don't believe you!" Roxas cried.

He lost it. "Why not, Roxas?" The redhead yelled. "I'm your best friend, why would I lie to you? Why don't you believe me?"

"Xion is a real person, her own person, just like us!" Roxas screamed in response.

Axel laughed and shook his head, turning away from the boy, trying to hide the pain he was feeling. "We're not real people, Roxas. We're nobodies. We're nothing. You, me, and Xion. We shouldn't even exist."

"But we do. We do exist, and there's no point in telling ourselves otherwise." Roxas replied angrily. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that." Axel said, planting himself in front of the door.

"Axel, don't make this difficult. You can't stop me." Roxas growled.

Axel didn't respond. Instead, he stretched his hands out and focused his energy into them. A chakram materialized in each hand with a burst of flame and he assumed a fighting stance.

Roxas grunted in anger and summoned his keyblade. "I don't want to attack you, Axel. Let me through." He demanded.

Again, Axel said nothing, only shook his head and planted his feet more firmly. Roxas cried out and leaped at him, swinging his keyblade at the older man. Axel easily dodged the attack and threw his chakrams at the boy, both missing him by a mile. He would fight to keep Roxas from leaving, but he would never forgive himself if the sharp, flaming weapons hurt him. Roxas, however, continued to hurl himself at him, swinging the blade fiercely.

Axel was tired. Drained, in more ways than one. He was limited as to what he could do without hurting the blonde, and before long he found his weapons knocked out of his hands as he fell backwards and hit the ground. Roxas hesitated for a moment, staring down at the man at his feet, and then stepped over him towards the door. He paused right before it, his back to the redhead.

"I have to do this, don't you get it? I have to. For Xion." He said quietly. Axel squeezed his eyes shut, still laying on the cold, hard floor. He listened as the door opened and the footsteps became more and more distant until they were gone entirely.

"For Xion. Of course." Axel mumbled, pulling himself into a sitting position. He drew in his long legs and buried his face in his knees.

"What about me?"