AN: Last chapter. :[ I'm not feeling too happy. I like typing this one thought. But I have to say this first: I didn't have it up earlier this week because I spent the weekend with my brother and never had a chance to even think about my story. But here it is! Um... let's see.. there was something I wanted to say.. Ah. I remember. Giving thanks to a few people, because I love them so much. A few of these people have reviewed, which made me a fluffy happy person. But all of these people are those who favorite and/or put this story on alert!
AeroFlux AkuRoku55
Amakurikara
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DemmyandZexy
Edo-kun's Angel
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FluffiBunni82
Higuchimon
Jade Feline
LearaCuroe
Orcadia
Phoenix of Blackfire
PopTartAddict
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Tayels
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So thanks! Also, after this chapter is put up, it won't be long until this fic reaches 6000 hits. Hopefully my next fic will be better. I'm planning on making one straight modern day, so.. yes... it will be better. /fangirl reaction mode
Anywho, enjoy the chapter. :)
"Welcome, Roxas.."
Roxas immediately pinned his deep oceanic eyes on the back of the man ahead of him. His hands were laced together, held at the small of his back as if he had been in the military. The silver-white hair spilled just below his shoulder blades and he wondered if the man was..old. He didn't sound like it, but it was a possibility. Who was he anyway? And how did he know his name? Those questions were more important. Roxas took a step forward, but stilled once the man began turning around. His hands clenched into fists, his eyebrows furrowing.
"How do you know me? What do you want? Who are you?" he asked defiantly.
"Roxas. I know everything about you. I know that you've spent countless nights blaming yourself for the death of your mother. I know that you used to wish you could commit suicide or murder your father, uncaring of the consequences. I know that you've been running for the past couple of months from a father that hasn't existed in your world since you left that town." He heard a gasp from the boy and glanced at him, amber eyes shining menacingly.
"Wh...What do you mean? Are you telling me he's dead?" Of course he's saying he's dead! Quit acting so stupid and let it sink in. This guy obviously has been stalking you or something...
"Not only him, dear boy. But your friends, too. That one blond boy... spunky, had an attitude. He died first, sacrificing himself so Saïx could be defeated by the water bearer. I'm disappointed two of my men are gone, but at least you're here. Which means I can carry on with my plans." Roxas was only barely paying attention, but he saw the brief flash of red in time. As soon as the aerial blade was thrust toward him, a keyblade knocked it to the side harmlessly. This caused a sick smile to play across the man's mouth. "Well trained, too. Interesting. Perhaps I'll have to try harder than I thought."
Holding both keyblades in his hand, Roxas felt he was ready for it. This guy proved to be a danger, someone who shouldn't know him. However, most of his confidence left him when dozens of those crimson aerial blades appeared in the room, surrounding both of them but pointing toward him. Squeezing the hilts of his keyblades, Roxas felt a trickle of sweat run down the side of his face. He gritted his teeth together before he darted to the left, triggering the blades to slam down in his wake and follow him. He rounded the room, making a slightly intricate pattern in his run to throw off the blades. But he made his way toward the man. In a split second, he leaped forward, both keyblades poised to slice through him, but he was stopped with one of those blades again. But this one seemed more crimson colored and sharper and larger than the others.
He pushed off and landed on his feet in front of the man. He didn't cease to take a breather. Instead, he dashed forward, using his keyblades skillfully and quickly to slash at his opponent. Most of his attacks were evaded, however, which made him angrier. He needed to attack harder and with more strength. He needed to get this guy onto his knees and beg for forgiveness. He wanted to know what he did. Roxas wanted answers. When Oathkeeper flew out of his hand, Roxas paused and breathed heavily, his sapphire orbs glaring daggers at him.
"Who the hell are you, for crying out loud?" he snapped. He was tired of referring to him as 'the man' in his mind whenever he thought about him. In particular, it was annoying.
"Xenmas."
Then he felt pain. Straight into his chest. Roxas' eyes were wide, his teeth clenched together to hold in a cry of pain-or maybe it was surprise. Because when he looked down, Xenmas' hand had disappeared into the left portion of his chest. Several beads of sweat trickled down his pale face. Was he imagining all of this? This was just a dream right? Any moment, Roxas expected to wake up in that bleak white bed next to Axel. To wake up and be perfectly ok, if not worried about their safety in that place. To be able to turn toward the older male and kiss him awake, just to see those emerald eyes sparkle with a happiness he liked to see. Because he knew that that exact happiness reflected in him.
The image shattered in his mind, the muscles in Xenmas' arm tightening as his fingers grasped his target. His chest convulsed, his mouth worked in the process to say something, but instead a scream emerged. Roxas clawed at his arm weakly. Pain. It was all that surrounded him. It was all that was left. How? His vision was beginning to turn just as bleak as the room they were in. It was impossible.
/x/x/x/x/x/x/x/
Axel jerked into a sitting position, letting the sheet fall limply into his lap. The warmth he was hoping to wake up to was gone, and by the empty room, had disappeared. It was most definitely not a dream, seeing as his clothes still littered the floor. As he remembered their earlier event, a pink tint came to his face. Not because of their encounter, but because he hadn't given a damn that they were in a highly dangerous place. The kid had a big effect on him, no doubt. Muttering curses under his breath, Axel slipped from the bed and began pulling his clothes on. Worry was number one on his emotional list. Great.
His mind wandered, his emerald eyes lingering on the desk as he stepped toward the door. He hadn't finished looking at those papers. With his curiousity as strong as a cat's, he stayed in the room and summoned himself to look at the pages again. The writing was practically chickenscratch, but he was able to decipher most of it.
/x/x/x/x/x/x/x/
Shadowed hearts. Creations of Heartless. A big mistake. We seek for something more. He isn't happy with the outcome. Sadly, it's all we can do for now. Our plans seem to be going smoothly, so perhaps he'll change his mind, despite it being a mistake. But as time keeps progressing, I fear that he isn't willing to comply with what we have. The Heartless are too clingy, shadowing everything around us and making it too difficult to control them. We all feared that we might be overcome by these shadows and fail miserably in their wake...
Roxas' air supply was now cut short. He couldn't fight back. There was no will power behind him, no hope. There wasn't an ounce of strength to help him through this. Perfect. Now his life should start flashing before his eyes, or he could start his regrets. But even his mind wouldn't allow him to relay those memories or words. Perhaps he was already dead and he didn't know? Most likely. He felt sorry. Not for him, but for everyone else.
...traces of them still remain, however. We can only give thanks to his power and, although he says it was simply to rid the infestation, I have a feeling that he wanted to keep us around. He depended on us to help with the plan if we are to be a part of it. I would gladly give my life to see this paradise he has conjured in his mind. It'd be a priceless thing. However, these heartless dreams of mine have to cease. We have bigger problems to deal with now. We had experimented again and came up with something better than the Heartless. We were at a loss as to what to call these creatures, but he gave us a very simple answer. Nobodies. Because they were made from the same entity was we were. No hearts, but they were in us, beating uselessly. I feel that we could have...
Xenmas grinned as the boy's eyes began to flutter and weaken. He could have had his prize by now, but he wanted to see this boy suffer. To make him wait so long, to toy around and run uselessly. He had been fed up with it since he had arrived in Twilight Town. So he had sacrificed Larxene to interrupt their little fun time. However, he was extremely disappointed when the plan was torn to shreds, thanks to that blond's pink haired friend. But he had gotten something in return to ensure Roxas would appear. His friends. And now he didn't even have them-they would be too late in their arrival now.
...foiled our plans a second time. I wish I could kill the runt and get it over with, but not even he would give the order. He had said he'd deal with the boy personally. When none of us could find him, we knew he was true to his word. And then we continued with our research, studying all day and all night. I personally thought it was a waste, that there was nothing more out there that would help him achieve our goal. But that was before we came across this one little town, rundown and sluggish at sight. There was a boy there who stood out like a white flower that was mixed in with black and red. He looked like he could be the key to...
Roxas couldn't think anymore. He couldn't even continue his weak retaliations on Xenmas' arm. Now he just stood there limply, only held up by the man's arm deep in his chest. His eyelids close involuntarily, hiding the dull sapphire eyes beneath them. What was it that Sora had said? He remembered the boy faintly, but not the words. His voice couldn't even be summoned. Then he saw a light flash beneath his closed eyelids. Or was that just in his mind? Perhaps. "...something special, Ro.." Huh? What was that? Nothing but noise. He was sure of it. "..don't try...win with...strength of.." Dammit, this wasn't making any sense. Stupid death voices.
...white heart. I told him of the finding and I could see something change in his eyes. I was proud I could be useful, that I was the one that might have found the key at last to our paradise. He wanted the boy immediately, so he had one of us cover as his father. The poor boy didn't realize that the car that almost ran him over one day was his idiot drunken father, who had gotten into a crash two minutes after that. He made Xaldin hire SeeD members; one proved to be truly useful, but the other had gone soft and joined the kid's side. That angered him and most of us hid and continued our studies to stray from his animate anger in the air. Then he began sending us in to deal...
His heart. His heart was the key! He remembered Sora's words. Not to fight with pure strength, which his mind kept telling him to do before then. But to fight with his heart was completely different. How was he going to? He couldn't move, couldn't open his eyes. Roxas could barely think as it was. Then that light flashed again. Damn it was bright. Again. Roxas clammed his eyes shut tighter. He needed to fight back and win. He couldn't leave just yet. Not with this crazy guy on the loose. Slowly, he regained his sight and looked up at Xenmas. His eyes were no longer dull, but brightly sparkling with the promise of getting rid of him. "Sayonara..." he rasped quietly.
..is his heart. The key to open a new vast power to create one single world under our control. We would have our hearts back, to be able to feel and function correctly. But I think, the more that it plagues my mind, that it would be the downfall of all of us in the end. Even with a paradise from him, from the Superior, we wouldn't stay like that forever. But the boy's heart, our key, made of pure white despite his trials through life. It is clean. Surprisingly, I've been feeling regret for him lately. It isn't fair to end his life simply because of his heart. He's had enough to go through. So why do I care...?
"Roxas..." Papers fluttered uselessly to the ground as the door slammed open. He had to try and make it to that room.
Roxas saw the faltering look on Xenmas' face as he took the hilt of Oblivion in both hands, quivering with the need to end it and kill him. Roxas smirked, thinking not of his physical strength, but of his friends and his memories of the days back then, all of it coming in a flash. His mother was a major part in it, but Axel, Demyx and Zell were included. He also thought of Marluxia, Hayner, Olette and Pence, even thought back on Naminé. She wasn't so bad and was most likely a good person at heart. His mind then pictured the people at Radiant Garden. Sora, another keyblader, Cloud, Kairi, Riku, Aeris, Merlin, Leon. Everyone there was a help. And by this time, Roxas knew the difference between his strengths. He felt his fingers tingling, his breath coming a big easier. With a slow breath, Roxas tightened his hold on his keyblade, still looking at a faltering Xenmas as if time had stopped just for him to reminisce. Then Oblivion was sticking through the man's chest, where his useless beating heart lay.
Roxas felt himself falling to the ground, a glimpse of Xenmas struggling to pull out the keyblade caught as he did. A hiss was heard, then the clatter of the keyblade as it fell to the ground. He was gone, and his plan foiled. But how come Roxas couldn't push himself up? He was too weak, his body feeling cold and clammy when he had been perfectly fine just a few seconds ago. Axel.. he wondered what the redhead was doing now. Probably still sleeping, knowing that lazy bum. A smirk graced Roxas' mouth at the thought and he let his eyes drift shut.
Then he was being pulled up, shaken lightly. It hurt his head. What was going on? Couldn't he rest for a moment?
"Roxas! Open your god damn eyes!" Roxas complied and opened them weakly, finding pools of emerald staring at him. Axel? He wanted to say his name, but he couldn't find his voice, let alone move his mouth. "Hey, don't worry about it. You..don't have to explain a thing to me. Just lay there, ok? Rest up a little. You look a bit pale in the face.."
Roxas felt thing fingers close around one of his hands and hold tightly, rocking his small frame back and forth as if he was a baby. "I guess... I did too much again.." he was finally able to choke out.
"I don't think you were ever the bright one in picking fights."
"I saw it..."
"What?"
"Destiny Islands. When I was in Twilight Town, I did something stupid. I thought maybe I was dead, but I found myself on a beach not long after being helped from the darkness. It was beautiful. I'm pretty sure it was Destiny Islands.." he murmured, closing his eyes. Roxas took a shuddering breath and tightened his own fingers around Axel's. "You guys kept appearing, but you disappeared, too. There was a moment when you came back and comforted me, so I held on to you. That time you didn't leave. And you said..." Roxas paused, feeling a cold tear trickle down the side of his face and disappear into his hair. Then Axel's free hand found itself stroking the blond's hair lightly, encouraging him to continue if he wanted to.
"You mentioned the promise you made. About you and Demyx sticking with me no matter what. You were the one that gave me the extra boost when I wanted to give up and stay in that paradise. You were...no..." Axel waited for him to continue, but when he looked down, he saw a troubled face on the boy. Tears threatened his emerald eyes and he placed his hand on Roxas' face, willing him to calm down.
"I was what? Tell me, Roxas, I'm still here," he said, hiding his tearful voice. But it didn't matter. Roxas opened his eyes anyway, a small smile dispelling the painful face. It was the first time Roxas had seen Axel cry at all. Maybe he didn't want him to anymore, after the first tear that dropped onto his cheek.
"You still are..." he muttered, taking in another gulp of breath. "...my guardian angel.."
"I..." Axel swallowed the lump in his throat, resting his forehead on the boy's. His lips lightly caressed Roxas' and he closed his eyes momentarily. "I love you...Roxas."
"Love you, too.." The redhead could hear the whisper of his breath passing slowly in those words and his hand gripped onto the boy's shirt.
Axel was then blinded by white light and he felt the weight of Roxas lift from his lap. His mind began to panic and his heart hurt badly. Tears were flowing unchecked down his face now. When was the last time he had cried? Axel reached out a hand in the midst of the light, trying to see, but it wasn't any use. "Roxas!" Then a hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him away.
/x/x/x/x/x/x/x/
Beep...
The stench of the air gave him a headache. What was that? Sterilizers and old people, it seemed. What the hell?
Beep...
He tried to open his eyes, but when he inched them open, bright lights flashed in his sight and he closed them tightly with a hiss. Damn brightness...
Beep...
What was with that beeping, anyway? It was getting annoying. Wasn't he dead? Surely there was no beeping where dead people go.
Beep...
Roxas lurched forward in the bed, his eyes snapping open despite the bright lights. His head hurt, his left arm hurt...hell, his whole body seemed to hurt. And he was surrounded by white. A white plastic curtain hung on a bar, isolating him from everything else. To his left was a small table which a few things were set on. He wasn't even going to look through it curiously. However, what was placed on a trolley cart on his right caught his attention. Papers. A whole stack of it. He gathered them up and set them on his lap, reading the first major article.
Restless Spirit Laid To Rest
Radiant Garden. They were probably referring to Sephiroth. He had sacrificed himself to save Cloud, but Roxas was glad that it paid off. He had even survived from that.
Pink Haired Boy Found Nearly Dead In Apartment
Marluxia. So he had lived? Well, if any of it even happened. It didn't seem that way. Roxas could distinctly remember dying in a big white building after killing some Xenmas guy. And Axel... Shaking his head, he continued.
Haunted House Proved Worthless By Local Kids
Heh, where he had encountered his first Lost Soul. Also where Naminé he disappeared after saving her. He was only lucky that Hayner, Olette and Pence had been there not long afterward to snap him to reality and defeat the creature. With a sigh, he laid that one aside as well.
Missing Girl Admits Runaway
Roxas remembered.. Naminé? No. That wasn't the name. It was some other girl, he saw. But it stated that she had gone missing two weeks after her arrival and didn't turn up for nearly a month. He flipped to the next paper under it.
Drunken Citizen Falls Five Stories
Roxas blinked as he read the article. This one was from Zorbinth. And Seifer was the person they were talking about. From the looks of it, he had survived, but he would be mentally unstable and unable to walk. Good riddance.
Two Boys Fall Victim to Coma
Another one from Zorbinth. But this time Roxas had to swallow a lump in his throat. He was one of those boys. And Zell was the other. What had happened to him? From the article, Roxas was hit..by a car? He kept reading as if clarified that the driver was none other than his father. Zell had fallen into a coma mysteriously. Strange much? His eyes then fell on the article just below that, his eyes beginning to widen.
Drunken Father of Comatose Boy Wrecks
And doesn't live... he finished in his mind. So his father really had died. But why did he feel tears emerging from that? Maybe it was because he didn't have Axel or Demyx. He didn't have a place he could run to or call home. He was alone without a guardian. Roxas remembered what he had said to Axel, about him not wanting a foster family. Damn that guy. If I remember him, then why don' t I see him here? He skimmed the back of his hand across his eyes and laid that article aside.
What was on the bottom of the pile made his brows furrow in confusion. Was that... his notebook? He flipped open the cover and looked twice before turning the page. A paper was slipped into the pocket-he hadn't put it there. Carefully, he took it out and glanced at it. It wasn't an official paper, but it had a signature stamped onto it. And words below it, scribbled hastily it seemed, stuck out. Fresh tears ran down his face unchecked and he set the paper down. Then they did know him, that this wasn't a dream. He lived with them now.
He flipped through the pages of his notebook, seeing several pages filled when he hadn't written so much. The same handwriting as was on the paper. Had Axel done all this? His hand quivered when he held the back of the notebook, staring at the last page. A little sketch was there, drawn almost perfectly if not for a few smudges here and there. One figure had flaming red hair, spiked back, and the other had messy blond hair. Each was sitting on the ground, their backs pressed against one another. Both of their heads were tilted downward, but the redhead's was slightly tilted, showing one of those triangular tattoos underneath his eye. The redhead wore a simple black zip-up hoodie and a pair of dark blue tattered jeans with red and black shoes. The smaller boy wore nearly the same thing, but tan jeans replaced dark blue, and white and black shoes replaced red and black. A heart had been drawn in the background, obviously colored in by a white colored pencil. Scribbled beneath the picture were their names: Axel and Roxas. A tear fell silently underneath those words, his thumb feathering over the next three words. I love you...
"I..was never a good artist.." Roxas snapped the book shut and looked up. He probably looked like he'd gone through a train wreck, died, revived, gone through burning hell and died again, only to revive once more and burst into tears that stained his face once dried. But he didn't care. Axel didn't care. And just at the sight of the redhead, it brought more tears. God, he was a crying wreck.
Roxas calmed almost immediately when he felt the bed sink and a pair of arms slide around his body carefully. He had almost forgotten his was bandaged for a reason. "Was it real..?" he muttered hoarsely. It hurt to speak. Maybe he had been out for several days. "How..long have I been in the coma?"
"About five to six months...And to be honest, I don't really remember a whole lot of what I did during that time. Demyx either. He's visiting Zell right now. But we both think..maybe we've been dreaming this whole time. Like maybe we were in our own coma and didn't know about it." Roxas latched his fingers into the hoodie the redhead wore, burying his face into him to smell the old spice and caramel. It was Axel. And he couldn't help but murmur something into his chest. "Hmm..?"
"I...love you. I love you, Axel," he repeated, pulling away to look at him. A soft smile graced Axel's gentle features, giving that happy sparkle to his eyes.
"I know, kid. I love you, too."
BAH! It can't be over! ... /crickets... It is. But I plan on making another fic soon, so don't worry. Look out for it. Umm.. but as a heads up, I'll be leaving on Friday (August 3rd) to visit relatives in North Carolina for a week. And I'm rather sure they don't have the internet up there. They're lazy bums. So to occupy myself, I'm taking Wolf's Rain and Fruits Basket to watch and my PS2 along with Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, Okami and possibly Sims. I need to indulge myself in a world of fantasy. hehe
Anyway, as I was writing this chapter, I came up with some theme songs (except for Demyx. Can't think of one for him...) I'ma list them. Even if you dun want me to! (And I suggest listening to them to get why I put the songs with them, or at least try to grasp the concept! x3)
Roxas: Let Go - Frou Frou
Axel: Let the Flames Begin - Paramore
Random (like a movie!): We Are Broken - Paramore ; Happy Together - The Turtles
Um.. but yeah.. wasn't that big. Hope you guys like the story. And all that fun jazz... luff to all of you!
I've been getting questions and stuff in reviews about it being a dream. Yes! It was basically a dream. But it's one of those things that it was all in their head, but it still sort of happened, but didn't to the real world. And the reason why Zell was in a coma was because in the dream thing, he died. (I know; "But that was waaaay after Roxas got hit!") Well, my excuse for that is.. the paper didn't know what happened. LOL I know lame, but I want to say it was linked to his 'death' in the dream portion of the story. Then that would mean that he was only in a coma for a couple of days. But I didn't want Roxy-kun to be the only one in the hospital. [ I'm bad at linking stuff together... but I'm glad you guys still liked the story! lol major luffs to you.
Moonie -luff-