And here we have it. After 6 years, chapter 5. Enjoy!

Chapter summary: Axel and Roxas adapt to a scheduled life at the facility. Marluxia prepares for action.

As a disclaimer, I don't own any of the characters mentioned, they all belong to square enix

Axel's journal laid abandoned, thrown under him and Roxas' shared bed for almost a week. Axel had written in it the morning after he had helped Vexen with his 'work'. Afterwards, he had felt a strange twisting in his stomach whenever he opened its pages to write.

The following days, Axel got constant care to his burns from the hospital staff at the facility. Marluxia monitored the care closely, picking up Axel from his room and sitting aside in the room as Dr. Alderre applied salves and skin repair to Axel's skin. Two weeks later, when the skin had not healed over enough to prevent easy breaking and bleeding, Axel was given two small skin grafts, in the shape of triangles, over his burnt skin.

Marluxia told Axel his face didn't look very different, it just had a couple of marks on it now. Axel had nodded along, smiling back at Marluxia when the chef asked him if he was okay. He showed the grafts off to Roxas, telling him that, basically, he had got a little bit of brand-new alien skin. Roxas had stared at Axel, horrified, when his friend said this and Axel had burst out laughing.

Lying awake at night, though, there were times where Axel ran his fingers over the different textures on his face, staring off into the dark room, with his friend sleeping quietly at his side. He refused to cry over the markings on his skin, but sometimes his eyes got a little irritated and blurry when he thought about the reason his face would always look different.

Roxas and Axel played in their room every day between lunch time and dinner time. They didn't get to see each other as much anymore. The man that the boys had come across in the hallway back when they were curious and adventuring had paid frequent visits to their room. He would take Roxas out on walks everyday outside of the building.

Roxas told Axel that the man's name was Xaldin, and the man would walk too fast for Roxas to keep up easily, so Roxas had to jog a lot to keep up with him on their walks. He said there was a rose bush in the garden outside the building. Axel wondered why he was never taken along with Xaldin and Roxas on their walks. Roxas always came back practically glowing, his pink skin looking new. He was also always much more energetic, always ready for a game when he came back from his walk.

While Roxas was taken away at least once a day to walk around outside, Axel was picked up by Marluxia every day to help the man cook meals in the kitchen. Marluxia had set up a stool so that Axel could reach the stovetop, where he often helped the chef by stirring the pot. The steam from the pot was hot and would waft up into Axel's face. The boy would breath in the hot air and grin at the warm feeling the steam gave him.

Whenever the meals were finished on the stovetop, Marluxia would move the pot away from the stove, and Axel would immediately place his hand onto the stovetop, giggling. The first time he did this, Marluxia dropped the pot and had pulled Axel away from the stove quickly. After a short conversation with the boy and a few moments of silent awe, Marluxia had allowed Axel to scramble back onto his stool and 'warm his hands' on the cooling-down stove top.

After a couple of weeks, Marluxia would keep the gas on as he moved the pot off the stove, leaving the flame burning on top. He would watch Axel out of the corner of his eye while he washed up. The boy would stare into the flames with deep fascination, and wave his hands through them often, sometimes holding his hands in the flame. Somehow, he never burned. Marluxia had made a point to hold the boy's hand afterwards once when taking him back to his room, and he found himself flinching for a moment when Axel's hand seared against his own. The boy's hand felt practically on fire with how hot it was - but his hand was smooth, devoid of any burning. Axel had looked up at Marluxia when the chef pulled his hand away, wondering what he had done to scare the man. Marluxia had then ruffled Axel's hair, and placed his hand comfortingly on the boy's back instead as they walked.

Even though Axel helped Marluxia in the kitchen, he refused all of the treats the Marluxia would offer to him while they got to work. When the chef had prepared a large pot of spaghetti, Axel eyes had grown wide with excitement. He only ate a couple of mouthfuls, though, before he declared himself full and would scramble to drop his plate off.

Roxas would sit at the table and pick at his food during dinner, having playful conversations with Axel. After a while, dinner time didn't include a meal for the boys, and instead they would just use the time to play in the dining room and never declaring hunger. Marluxia started bringing cards to dinner, and taught the boys card games while he ate and watched them.

Axel and Roxas spent time with Vexen separately five times a week in the lab, where they would continue to get shots supplied by the scientist. Roxas was never given an incision again and Axel was never burned again. Whenever one of the boys would return to the room, rubbing his arm gingerly and frowning, the other would be waiting with an idea for a game to play that night.

Both Axel and Roxas understood that time with Vexen in the lab meant discomfort with shots and various checks on their bodies. They never talked about their experienced in the lab with each other. Sometimes, Marluxia would bring up the lab in passing during dinner time while the boys played cards on the table. He would ask them how many shots they had had that day, and how long they had spent with Vexen each day.

Three weeks after the boys had first been worked on by Vexen, Axel told Marluxia that Vexen had not given him any shots the last two times he went to the lab. Roxas had piped up then to say that it had been the same for him. Axel turned to Roxas then in excitement and the boys continued to talk in eagerness about never needing shots again. Marluxia watched the boys closely.

They were ready.

Axel squealed in excitement when Roxas drew an imaginary 'X' onto the floor of their room with his finger. The smaller boy had been describing a treasure map to him that would lead the boys to a hidden treat somewhere in the lagoon.

"It's gonna be right here, beyond mermaid's lagoon!" Roxas exclaimed matter-of-factly, looking up at Axel with an intense stare. His cheeks always puffed out slightly when he was trying to be the captain, and Axel giggled at the sight. Roxas' serious stare broke when his friend laughed and he smiled as he continued. "We have to be careful though. The mermaids can be really mean sometimes!" Axel nodded exuberantly and held his hand up to his forehead.

"Aye-aye, captain Roxas!" he giggled. Roxas' face brightened, and he got up off the floor. Quickly, he ran to the bed to get his blanket before beckoning Axel over to the bed.

"We have to climb the mountain. Sometimes rocks fall and if we get hit on the head we can die," Roxas explained in a whisper, looking up at an imaginary mountain in front of them in the place of the bed. Axel gulped.

"How do we get away from the rocks?" Axel asked as he rubbed his hands together in preparation for the climb.

"You gotta move to the side really quick!" Roxas exclaimed, reaching out to grab Axel's arm and jerk him to the side. Axel stumbled in the movement and squeaked as he collided into Roxas and sent both of them to the floor.

Roxas stared at the ceiling, dazed for a moment, before turning onto his side to look at Axel. His friend had his hands on his stomach, giggling uncontrollably. Roxas laughed along and climbed onto his knees to get back to the game when he was hit with a sudden dizziness.

"Uh-oh." Axel muttered from the floor as he watched Roxas swaying, sitting on his knees. He scrambled to sit up as well and leaned forward into Roxas' face. "Don't tell me you're tired already!"

Roxas yawned, his eyes misting over with sleepiness as he shook his head.

"M'not tired, I just want to take a nap."

Axel groaned, "That means you're tired, Roxas!"

"Yeah," Roxas agreed and climbed up onto the bed with his blanket, curling around himself. Axel watched, frustrated at the sudden end to their game. Roxas always got super tired in the mornings. Only a couple hours after they woke up! Axel had begun to get used to it, though. He would just look forward to when Roxas would want to play again after his walk.

Roxas' breathing turned soft as he fell asleep and Axel reached his arm under the mattress to pull out his lighter. He was wide awake and didn't want to nap with Roxas. Flicking the lighter open, he ran his thumb over the gear to ignite the familiar small flame. With a bored sigh, he sat against the wall and ran his finger back and forth through the flame.

"Your temperature is sitting at a normal 107 degrees Fahrenheit today," Vexen murmured as he removed the thermometer from under Axel's tongue and scribbled the number onto his clipboard.

"Cool," Axel responded absent mindedly, fiddling with his lighter in his hands. He had learned to just ignore Vexen mostly during his check-ups. Usually, they would end up shorter if he did. Vexen had not hurt him too badly since that day when he burned him, and Axel no longer was paranoid of being hurt.

Vexen sighed at Axel's short response as usual. His work wasn't as fun when the boy didn't find it interesting like he had before. The progress at the end of the day, though, brought him enough joy to make up for the dull sessions.

"I think if we get you to about 110 on a normal day, 120 after you have been around heat, we will be golden to move forward," Vexen estimated as he observed the numbers he had recorded over the past few weeks of Axel's progress. Axel clicked his tongue idly a few times before responding.

"What then?" he inquired curiously. Sometimes he still found himself amazed at the cool things Vexen said. The slight wonder in his voice didn't slip past Vexen and the scientist smiled, turning to Axel.

"Superhero stuff, Axel." Vexen ruffled Axel's hair. The boy stared up at him with wide eyes for a moment, the corners of his agape mouth twitching upwards. He then seemed to remember himself, and looked back down at his lighter.

"That's cool."

Vexen laughed lightly at Axel's stubbornness. Children were far too emotional. He continued to squeeze Axel's joints as he asked the boy to flex different parts of his body. Once he was satisfied with the way the boy's muscles reacted, he patted Axel's head twice.

"Alright, you are done for today," he declared. Axel slipped off the table immediately, shoving his lighter into his pocket and running towards the door to go play with Roxas.

"Don't run in the lab, Axel," Vexen scolded after him sternly. Axel stiffened for a moment before muttering a quiet apology and pushing the door open. The door had been propped open so that Axel could come and go without having to reach the too-high handles.

Marluxia awaited Axel outside the lab, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. When he caught sight of the boy, he grinned and opened his arms. Axel giggled as he hugged the man and told him he was going to go and find a treasure. Marluxia chuckled and nodded, gesturing Axel back to his room. He watched the boy bounce down the hall and once he heard the door to the boys' room close, he turned back towards the lab door. Vexen shortly exited the room.

"Ahem." Marluxia stared pointedly at Vexen when the scientist turned to him. Vexen raised a questioning brow at him and Marluxia put on a conversational front.

"So, things are going well, huh?" he questioned, his voice casual as he leaned against the wall again. Vexen watched him for a moment before he looked down at his clipboard and nodded.

"Actually, yes. Things are progressing wonderfully," the scientist shared. He addressed Marluxia with an empty stare. "Are you interested in the data?"

"Nah." Marluxia waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Actually, I was wondering if you were planning to present this stuff to the board back at LU soon. It's been almost five years since we split off from their research board," he reminded. "Considering they're sponsoring your work, I'm sure they'd be exhilarated to read about the progress you've achieved through child abuse." His tone grew short and Vexen rolled his eyes.

"Please, Marluxia," Vexen sighed. He looked up at Vexen in annoyance before he explained. "I am not sure if the board at the University will understand what we are doing here under our names. Do remember your place at my side. You are just as associated as I with the Hearts Research Facility."

Marluxia regarded Vexen for a moment before he muttered an 'mmk' and turned to make his way down the hall to his quarters. He's not sure they'll understand what we're doing here? Hell, I don't even understand what we're doing here.

As Marluxia reached his room and pulled his shirt over his head, he fell backwards onto his bed. Here he was, five years removed from grad school, dealing with Vexen's shit. The idea of biomolecular experimentation had ignited his interest and passion for the study of life back when him and Vexen had discussed splitting off from the University. He had laid awake at night in excitement for weeks before he had moved out of the city and into the research building that they had cosigned under a loan from the board.

Now, he found himself sleepless at night for weeks, terrified to death about leaving the facility and what would happen to him and the children. Axel and Roxas couldn't grow up in this place. Marluxia had wanted children of his own someday, hopefully with a beautiful wife and a quiet home. And yet, in the short couple of months that he had cared for the two small boys down the hall, he had begun to imagine what life might be like as a single father.

Axel and Roxas were stable now. He was sure of it. The boys had assured him that they no longer were receiving shots from Vexen. It seemed as if their appointments with the scientist were simply check-ups now. They could grow up without relying on Vexen now, and Marluxia intended to make sure that they did just that.

Marluxia held his arms over his eyes for a few long, quiet moments before he spurred into action. He stood up and pulled a backpack out of his closet where he had been accumulating items he would need. He had been hoarding cash from his share of the facility profits, basic medical equipment stolen from the lab, and Axel's adoption papers in the back of his closet. Arranging the things into the bag, Marluxia found himself breathing heavily, anxious for the night to come.

Axel woke up in a jostle as his shoulder was shaken gently. Aside him, he heard Roxas groan quietly as he was awoken as well.

"What…?" he questioned groggily as his eyes started to focus in the dark room. There was light flooding into the room through the open door and a curtain of pink hair dangled in front of him as him and Roxas were shaken into awareness.

"Marly?" Roxas questioned quietly. He pushed his messy blond locks away from his eyes and sat up in bed slowly, pulling his blanket into his lap securely. Axel sat up beside him. In the dark, the boys couldn't make out Marluxia's face clearly.

"Sorry to wake you boys," Marluxia whispered in a rushed tone. "I know you're both very tired, but I need you two to help me with something." He knelt down on the floor and placed a hand on each of the boy's legs. He squeezed lightly in reassurance. "We are leaving."

Axel and Roxas stared at Marluxia's silhouette in front of them for a moment before Roxas nodded and moved to climb off the bed. Axel's voice came to him then and he waved his hand after Roxas.

"Wait, why?" he questioned. "Where are we going?" Axel didn't remember Marluxia telling him they would be going anywhere in the middle of the night. Vexen had made the rule clear that they were not to leave their room after hours. Marluxia shushed him quietly and cupped Axel's face gently.

"I know this is a lot to try to understand, Axel." Marluxia hesitated. He knew he shouldn't lie to the boy, Axel was a curious child and he would continue to demand answers if he tried to wave it off. How do you explain to a seven-year-old child that you intended to smuggle them away to a better life? "We shouldn't stay here any longer. There are bad guys here, and the longer we stay, the more in danger we are."

Roxas gasped from beside him.

"Really?" Roxas whispered, horrified. He gripped Marluxia's jeans tightly and stared anxiously at the door.

No, not really.

"Yes. We need to leave now." He turned to Axel then. "Do you understand? This is an important mission, Axel."

Axel sat in silence for half a moment before he nodded his head quickly and clambered off the bed as well to stand beside Roxas. Roxas gripped his blanket and immediately leaned against Axel as he yawned heavily. Standing up, Marluxia held his hands out for the boys to take them as he watched the door for anybody passing by.

"You should carry him, Marly," Axel whispered and pointed to Roxas who seemed to be falling back asleep as he leaned against his friend. Marluxia nodded, knowing that Roxas would have low energy until the sun came up again. He gathered Roxas into his arms in one quick movement and regarded Axel as he moved near the door. "You okay to walk, Axel?"

"Yeah, I'm not as much of a sleepy baby like Roxas."

"Hey…" Roxas interjected sleepily from Marluxia's arms.

"Quickly then," Marluxia urged. "Do you have your blanket?" he asked as the thought came to his mind. Roxas nodded against him and he looked down to see the blanket was squashed between Roxas and himself. He knew how important it was to the small boy.

Briskly walking down the hall, Marluxia gestured at Axel where to turn to get to the exit doors at the front of the facility. The redheaded boy would run ahead in his socks and look back at Marluxia before turning corners. Marluxia passively thought it might have been better if he had not worn shoes. Axel moved around so silently in his little socks.

As they reached the entrance lobby, Marluxia shifts Roxas to hold the boy against his hip with one arm while he reaches into his backpack for a small hand towel. The facility was private and therefore only people with a keycard could unlock the door momentarily. Anticipating the beep of the keypad when he ran his card over the red light, Marluxia pressed the towel against the small speaker on the side of the box. The approved sound was muffled and he threw the towel across the room afterwards, not caring to pack it again. He gripped Roxas tightly then.

"Hold tight to me and your blanket, Roxas," he whispered into the top of the boys hair, and Roxas nodded. Marluxia looked down at Axel then, his tone serious, "Axel. We are going to run out this door on the count of three, okay? We are gonna run straight to the third van parked in the parking lot. Do you understand?"

Axel looked from Marluxia to out the glass door of the facility to look for the vans Marluxia mentioned. When he caught sight of the destination, he nodded.

"Okay. We can do it," he whispered, his hands on his hips. "What about the bad guys, are they out there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Maybe. We need to move fast before anybody sees us."

"'Kay," Axel whispered and got into a starting stance like the men he had seen do on the tv before a big race. Marluxia stared at the boy for a moment before he nodded to himself. Axel was really taking the whole 'escape the bad guys' thing seriously. He knew Axel would be able to run fast. There was usually one guard that was assigned night shift to make sure nobody came onto the property. On most nights, the night shift guards just slept in their stations, though. Marluxia hoped this was one of those nights. With a deep breath, he counted to three and opened the door.

Axel immediately bolted, making a beeline for the van while Marluxia gripped Roxas tightly and ran after him. Immediately, an alarm was set off and Marluxia's blood ran cold with panic as he felt adrenaline rush through him. If he were caught now, he would never be allowed the chance to try again. Vexen would surely make sure he didn't have access to the children.

Marluxia's backpack clunked behind him and Roxas shoved his face into his neck as he ran across the courtyard. The sound of keys rattling behind him caused his mind to panic and he felt himself grip Roxas tighter.

In a moment too quick to comprehend, Marluxia got a quick glimpse of Axel's small body turning between the vans and out of sight as his legs buckled beneath him and he stumbled, falling forward. He had been clubbed in the back of the knee. He had the mind to turn to his side as he collided with the floor hard and Roxas fell out of his grip with a loud shout.

Marluxia's head spun for a moment as searing pain shot through the arm he had landed on. Gathering his senses, he forced himself up quickly and screeched after the guard that was taking a screaming Roxas back into the building.

"No! No! Stop!" he shouted after the guard, moving to run after him before he collapsed again, his knee failing him. He watched helplessly, horrified, as Roxas disappeared into the building in the guard's arms.

"Stay down!" a booming voice echoed from his right through a megaphone and Marluxia's gaze flickered between the guard jogging over to him and the line of vans just a ten second sprint away. He caught sight of Axel's red hair peeking over from the side of the van. He squeezed his eyes shut for a millisecond, sending a silent promise to Roxas as he clambered to his feet again and made a break for the van.

Marluxia pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the vehicle remotely as he stumbled near.

"Get in!" he shouted at Axel.

"But Roxas!" Axel immediately shouted back at him, his voice cracking with the panic he was in. With no time to persuade the boy, Marluxia threw the door to the van open and pulled Axel into his lap before maneuvering him into the passenger seat. Axel shouted in resistance as he was man handled across the center console.

The driver door hung open still as Marluxia peeled out of the parking lot, leaving the single guard bewildered as he watched the van speed down the road.

A/N: I feel tense after writing that scene. Oi. Please share your thoughts and review, it will loosen my joints. Thanks for reading!