Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the plot, or any of the characters. They belong to Square and/or Disney.
Summary: Sometimes, for those that are broken, a false hope is better than no hope at all. (Axel drabble, Major KHII Spoilers)
Warning: KHII Spoilers here, if you don't want to know, avert your eyes and click back!
Quotes are taken from the game. I've used the nearest translations available.
Bond Of Flames
"If we're to be reborn, let's meet again."
"I'll wait for you..."
An empty promise.
He'd known that the moment that Roxas had said it. While he may have believed that once he merged back with Sora he could somehow retain his former self, that he could keep his memories, and his promise, Axel knew only too well that wasn't true.
He had allowed Roxas to walk away once more. Still, he'd clinged, perhaps foolishly, to the slight hope that there would be some part of Roxas still present even after re-joining with Sora.
That hope had been shattered. From his encounter with Sora at Hollow Bastion, it was obvious that there was no sign of Roxas there anymore. His friend was gone, and he had failed to stop the one thing that he had feared happening the most from occurring.
"If you become an enemy of the Order, you won't survive."
Ever since Roxas had left the Order, there was something missing. It hadn't taken long for everything to fall apart, resulting in the state that things were in now. He was branded a traitor and forced to keep moving in an effort to avoid a relentless Saix. It hadn't taken long for him to catch up, and Axel had taken his beating. The only reason he had fled once more was because there was one last thing he needed to do…
"You're going to disappear…"
"A Nobody is someone who shouldn't exist. Isn't that right?"
He hadn't expected Sora to stay behind and fight alongside him. Perhaps, if he was still there, that was an influence on Roxas' part. Or perhaps it was simply Sora's choice to stay. Either way, Axel was tired of fighting and he was tired of running.
It had been wrong of him to try and stop Roxas from leaving, and it had been wrong to try and prevent him from merging with Sora.
"Why are you doing this?"
"…I wanted to see Roxas."
Roxas had resigned himself to his fate, and now Axel had decided his. His friend wasn't coming back, but so long as Sora still lived, maybe a small part of Roxas would too. The least that he could do after everything was ensure that Sora was able to leave that place, so that he could end it and go back home.
In a way, Roxas had gotten his rebirth, but Axel wasn't going to.
They weren't going to meet again…
"When he was around, it felt like I still had a heart…"
Notes: I have no idea where this came from, I just randomly wrote it. I wanted to make an attempt at writing a little something based off some of those quotes and that scene. Perhaps the single saddest thing about that is that there is no Roxas present as he dies – it just makes his whole story so tragic.
I know it's never actually shown, but it seems heavily implied that Saix was the one that beat Axel up before he shows up for the last time and that's why he's in such bad shape during the small bit where he fights alongside you.
Everyone knows where the title comes from, right? ;)