I would like to thank my beta omgyouarecute (Brooke)! You can hit her up at tumblr under that name.

There wasn't a drop to drink. That was Axel's first memory from childhood when he reached forward in a dreamlike state and turned the knob that once would bring forth water to wet dry throats and swollen stomachs. He remembered every Thursday: the day they received that weeks water rations. The redhead had grown up in a world without showers or baths. He had lived week to week. When he was eighteen, he entered the army where he would never have to worry about hydrating himself or food for that matter. That kind of reassurance was invaluable to him. The more he killed, the less he had to worry, so he did as commanded. Axel worked his way to the top. He crawled there on top of the backs of the men he stabbed and the friendships he betrayed after their use was over.

And when he stood there before the council, they only asked him one question, "Would you like to volunteer?"

The words referred to the file in his hand that he had been given last night by a cautious looking scientist. It held pictures of Zeno Alpha 39, Zeno for short, and a happy looking scouting crew was smiling at the camera in the photograph waiting for his arrival. He was supposed to go in the next wave to help with colonization, exploration, and the retrieval of water to send back to their parched planet. It all seemed so easy, "The team you'll be accompanying are some of our finest scientists. You'll be there as security and help with relations between the two groups. It will have been seven years since Team A arrived by the time you get there. They've currently been there a year. By the time you are ready to leave, another year will have passed and the journey itself will take five years."

Axel nodded to show that he understood, "Are we being put in stasis while we're aboard?"

The head of the council spoke carefully, "Yes, but you'll all take a few months of rotation where you'll watch the status of the ship and your colleagues."

"I accept the mission then, sir. I look forward to meeting the others in training."

Axel had never been big on talking with people that he felt were smarter than him. He liked to believe he was on top, and he certainly was physically. He was of above average intelligence, but when Saix Greenwall, their resident doctor who would be voyaging with them, introduced himself as his bunkmate for their year at training, the redhead felt allured. Choosing his words carefully, so he wouldn't make a fool of himself, he gave the most self-confident grin he could manage after setting down his bag at the foot of the bottom bunk, "So, travel to Zeno Alpha 39 often?"

It was an interesting year.

~o~

The life aboard a star cruiser wasn't that different from living in the barracks. He cleaned even though the floors were spotless, he read books even after he'd read them all, he watched Saix sleep, "Asshole." He muttered as he stamped away for dinner.

When he slept, he dreamed of the months before they began to bicker about every single thing. It go to the point, he had to request a different room. They had been so similar at the beginning, but Axel supposed that was because he had figured out what Saix wanted, become that, and then slowly had begun behaving like himself again. It was almost laughable about how often it happened. The redhead couldn't live as himself. He was afraid that whoever he was dating wouldn't want a tall, thin redhead with bony hips and body hair the ugliest color it could come in. "My penis is weird looking too…" He thought to himself. Green eyes reflected a sliver of emotion while staring down at mashed potatoes and a small piece of meat.

Tomorrow he would be back in stasis. All this time that his thoughts had been allowed to manifest and mutate in would be gone, and he would wake up in a new world.

~o~

One of the things that never makes it to team B in time is that team A lost contact with the home base two months after the group departed. As their ship lands and the docking door opens up onto the garden of Eden, Axel and his crew are blissfully ignorant of all that stands before them. There is no secret sin to fear yet. For a moment, they all stand there and take the lushness of the forest and fields in. They'd never seen so much vegetation. Plants needed water to live, and only the hardiest of plants had been able to make it back on Earth. "The main camp should be a mile that way." Their navigator, Zexion, pointed across a field of long grass into a patch of forest, "They're located next to the widest river on Zeno. It's called Mark 234, but we'll call it Mar River for easiness."

Axel took out his gun and gave the area a look over, "Seems peaceful enough."

"It is as far as we're aware." Demyx, their water analysis, chirped. He seemed to be an airhead, but at times, his voice of reason forced the soldier to remember that he had a quick brain hidden behind a cheerful facade.

The sound of grass being trampled was all that was heard amongst the bird calls and crickets, "Can we even call them birds?" The redhead asked curiously.

"That's what we'll refer to them as," Marluxia, the biologist, sighed, "Until I can start to catalog species and type with my colleagues."

A female voice broke out from behind them as they continued single file through the field, "This isn't a field trip, assholes. This is a mission." Larxene was their engineer and the only other person who had a formal military training as lucrative as Axel's.

As they reached the shade blessed upon them by the canopy of tree branches, the collective released a grateful sigh. The heat from Star 34976 Sector 17 was beginning to be too much, and Axel resisted the urge to remove his jacket, wary of any diseases he could pick up from the animals here.

"There are twenty people at the camp, right?" Saix asked, "Minus the other staff?"

"Oh, is that what we are?" Axel snorted, "Babysitters with a glorified title?"

A snarl erupted from his ex, "Shut up. The colonists are extremely important. If we can't save the home race, then they'll be our only hope in starting over."

Green eyes rolled in their sockets, "Sorry Timmy, there's no reason to save you because Johnny is going to make it, and he's on Zeno."

There were a few more minutes of relative silence underneath the call of animals and the hoot of some sort of amphibian creature that Axel was tempted to call a frog. "There's camp." Zexion wiped his brow as a few crude structures came into view, "I bet they'll be glad to see us."

"I'm surprised they didn't come out to the ship to give us a warm welcome." Demyx laughed.

As they approached the site, something triggered the redhead's senses and he held out an arm to signal the others to hault. "Stay here."

Creeping forward into the circle of rough edifices, he opened a door, "No one is here." He called out to the others, drawing his gun from its holster. Continuing to what appeared to be the bunkhouse, he noted that one of the walls had been dug under, "Something may be in this one." Larxene was now standing behind him, her weapon drawn and ready to fire.

"On the count of three." She gave him a knowing look, "One. Two. Three."

On three, he turned the knob, and she gave everything a few tense seconds before spitting her disgust at the anti-climatic ending. Stepping inside, the two fumbled for the lightswitch due to the lack of windows before opting for their flashlights. Once the redhead had pressed the switch and the soft glow filled the room, his facial expression remained stony for a moment, "They covered the windows…" He noted.

"Must have had issues with something trying to get inside them without a covering on it." Larxene clicked her tongue, "Jesus Christ, what are we going to tell the guys?"

"The truth." Axel cleared his throat, "Everyone is dead."

"We'll need to count bodies to confirm that." The blonde nodded, "But I would agree. It looks that way."

"Looks like predators of some sort...canine like teeth, I would say."

Larxene began to back away for the door, "Alright, I'll go back and let them know. I'll get Saix in here to give some autopsies or whatever the fuck doctors do when this kind of shit happens."

Axel kicked the floor for a few seconds before following after her, "I'll give the other buildings a look over to see if I can find anymore clues."

The party opts to spend the night in the star cruiser after finding tracks from several large creatures in the dirt surrounding the complex. Axel volunteers to spend the night in the 'town hall', though, to see what possibly might have gone down. Speaking to Demyx most of the night over walkie talkie, he doesn't get any sleep, but he also doesn't miss the fog that rolls over the settlement from the river and how it envelopes everything. Just as he comments on it to his friend, a few soul shattering howls are heard in the distance and then the shrieks of whatever their prey must have been, "God help us." The redhead pales for a moment, wondering if the pall has already been dropped upon them.

~o~

Blue eyes snapped open in the violence of the silvery night. Shivering as he picked himself off the grass that bottomed his nest, the blond stretched, joints popping like wood in a fire. Letting out a long sigh, he crawled over to Staltag and nipped at him a bit before the bird creature acknowledged him by cooing softly to let him know everything was okay. Staltag had been his nest protector when he had first been taken in by the sky monkeys, and the feathered creatures with beaks fit their name exceptionally. At least, the name that the boy had given them. Chlorocebus djamsemino was more of what his mother would have prefered. The blond had facilitated the acceptance of the clan by taking on a coating of mud and covering himself in molted feathers that he had found along the ground.

Anything to get off the forest floor.

He had worked hard to imitate their calls, to kill and eat the snakes with millepedelike legs they brought him, and to adhere to the hierarchy. Staltag was at the bottom of the pyramid in this matriarchal society where they pushed the males to father as many children as possible. When Staltag had produced a weak few, he was no longer even permitted to bathe with the group, and he had mourned his children that had died alone. The only reason why the boy had been allowed a place in the trees was because the sky monkeys were highly intelligent like everything on this planet and recognized that he posed no threat and would die if not taken of the ground. He was enough like them that Staltag could make a plea for him. He had been eight when his 'father' had adopted him.

At times he could barely remember his own parents or the language he had used. Stasis wasn't perfect. It didn't keep one from aging. It just kept one's mind from being awake, so while he may have developed the body of someone much older, his language skills had been behind. Luckily, he had been relatively caught up once they had landed. He had even begun school. His mind broke away from the train of thought as the sun began to peak above the tree tops, and he released a long yawn before hooting at Staltag that he was going to the river. Mornings made him nostalgic and he continued to wonder if the large thing the clan had seen the other day was more humans arriving. He moved with an ease from one tree limb to another until he had reached the riverside. Climbing out upon a branch that dipped into the water, he plucked a rose petal pink fruit, a Olu as the sky monkeys called it, from among the leaves and peeled away the thin covering to reveal the flesh. Biting in, sweet juice filled his mouth and he tasted the combination of hibiscus, apples, and raspberries, but at the same time, something much sweeter. Salivating a bit more, he grabbed another Olu and drained it as well before eating the shell. Now full, he crept along the branch towards the water.

Glancing into the depths, he watched the clear water carefully. Once deeming that no predators were nearby, he quickly slurped up his fill of liquid before scampering away to go search for more bedding for his nest and any pretty objects that he might want to fill it with. He was much larger than the others, so he had to constantly make sure that the nest was stable and had no loose spots lest he fall to his death unlike the others who could spread their wings and glide to momentary safety.

He said momentary because there was no safety on the ground during the night. At a time like this with the sun shining brightly, he could straighten himself and walk correctly upon the earth if he wanted, but there was no reason too when the trees were large and he could swing along on vines. A couple of clicks from Nene, one of the few females allowed to talk to him, alerted him that the Duskcrashers had slunk back to their haunt and that he would be on guard tonight. He sing songed back his understanding and shimmied down the tree onto the damp soil, so he could move to the Crystal Pool. The Crystal Pool was the only water truly safe from Lake Lizards, creatures that lurked in the water and could blend into their surroundings. They waited for animals to approach the water before snapping at them and pulling them into the depths to be devoured. While the pool was safe from the Lake Lizards because it wasn't attached to any other body of water, it was at the foot of a waterfall where the rocky soil prevented the safety of tree from covering him, so he could only visit it during the bright parts of the day.

Reaching the lip of the pond, he peeled away his feathers and waded into the warm water until his chest was submerged and layers of mud began to chip away. Sighing his relief, he dunked himself under allowing sunshine strips to become seen from the dust that usually covered his matted hair. Floating on his back for a few minutes, the sound of voices emerging from over the spray of the waterfall forced the boy to press himself flush against the rock, hoping he wouldn't be seen.

A pink and a redheaded man came into view, "They say that this pond has a volcanic vein that runs underneath it. It's a hot spring."

"Why doesn't it smell then?"

"There isn't any sulfur. The geologist's diary says there's something else that causes the heat." As they arrived at the edge of the pond, the pink haired man reached down and picked up two of his feathers, "The monkeys must come to bathe here. Want to take a dip?"

Heart pounding, the blond wondered if he would be spotted when they entered the water, but the redhead sighed and shook his head, "Save it for later. We're out here on recon. Not for fun. Maybe later today, we can bring a couple others, but I don't want to be caught off guard when we don't know what killed the colony."

"Fair enough. We should avoid entering any area where the monkeys might be nesting." He bagged two of the feathers, "You know how chimpanzees used to react when they weren't extinct? They were known to tear off peoples faces. I'd like to avoid that."

"Fine by me." The redhead grunted, "Let's just survey this area next to the river. They mentioned something about lizards of some sort that could act like chameleons and then jump out to drag someone under. That's why they were never able to build a bridge across the Mar."

After the two had shuffled away, the teen slipped back into the body of water and to the sandy bank to gather his feathers. He'd have to collect a couple more now, and as he rolled in the dirt, he was grateful that molting season had filled the nests with several. Climbing back into the safety of the trees after he had pasted the plumes onto his arms, the jungle boy returned to collecting branches and repairing the nest.

~o~

"We have all of all the remains of what looks like the colonists and the staff," Saix announced that night at dinner, "We are still missing two children, but their skeletons were probably so small that it is very easy to think they were dragged off."

"I've already called in to base about what happened." Xemnas, their pilot, added on, "And they said that they were already aware. About a month after we left, they began getting frightened messages about something prowling in the night and banging along the sides of the buildings."

Axel stiffened, "Yeah, I heard something out there when I spent the night."

"From now on," Xemnas ordered, "Everyone sleeps in the star cruiser. We close the port

door at sundown until we can get the buildings braced and repaired. They've already sent two other waves of people. This time sixty each."

Fuck, they really were leaving the Earth, "I guess they want this problem taken care of?" The redhead asked, patting his gun, "If it's okay with you, Mr. Biologist, I'm going to secure you some specimens."

Marluxia gave him a knowing smile, "Fine by me, out here, it's predator or prey."

~o~

The boy's days passed by in their usual lazy bliss. Dropping down from the trees once morning had come two weeks or so after the other humans had arrived, he wandered down the shore of the river towards the south, away from the complex, and came to where the rather large river choked to a deep yet narrow width. From here, it appeared almost as if there were no way to cross, but when approached, it was revealed that several trees and vines had been used to make a crude bridge. This, surprisingly, had not been made by human hands but by the bird monkeys, and while it was the only safe way to cross the river, it was also a large stretch that was exposed to the Lake Lizards.

It was not often that the blond was told to do surveying since the females usually did that, but he was also here to do construction, a common male task in their clan. Moving towards the bank, he decided to grab a stick and sharpen it some for his protection before beginning across the unstable bridge. In a few days, they'd be migrating to the west side of the river and then south towards the coast. The food there was a bit fuller in meats and there were more nuts, but he personally was more partial to their summer habitat, probably due to its location near the old complex. He had hardly been back there since the night his parents had been killed by the Duskcrashers, and he had no desire to go back. The blond only ventured there once a year in the spring as soon as the clan had returned from the ocean. He had lived the majority of his life without any form of contact outside of the original twenty humans, and he was afraid of the questions he'd be asked now and how'd he be perceived if he did make himself known to the new explorers. He had grown up on Zeno, not on Earth, and in his own way, he was not a part of their culture.

Something in his peripheral vision alerted him that he was no longer alone and that he was now being watched for a moment of weakness. Picking up his pace would be useless as they would know that he had seen them and the Lake Lizards were much faster swimmers than he was a runner. Continuing on until the middle of the bridge, the sight of something white surging him underneath of the surface of the clear water forced him into a sprint. He only had another forty feet at most, and if he didn't move now, his death was absolute. Heart hammering in his chest, he clutched his sharpened stick tightly, knuckles turning white, as he pumped his arms. Twelve feet before the shore, the submerged creature tore through the surface and over the bridge. Turning to face the giant scaled beast, he plunged the wood into the soft pouch beneath the lizards throat and the thrashing monster clipped his back with one of its claws as he forced the branch deeper into the terror's body. Violet blood spewed, covering his arms as the wound became wider and deeper. Crying out in fear as the beast snapped at his face, he became unbalanced and fell back into the water. The Lizard now had the advantage as it twisted its traplike mouth around to crush down upon one of his arms like a vice. Something within the teen wondered if this had been a suicide mission, but he doubted any of the clan disliked him that much. Stabbing violently into the creature twice more, he finally kicked free and swam to shore. The normally clear water was cloudy with the pinks and purples of blood. He watched as smaller Lake Lizards surrounded and began to tear apart their dead companion to consume him. His feathers floated downstream; his muddy coating gone.

Inspecting his arm, he realized that if he did not do something quickly, the puncture wounds would struggle to clot. His only option was to find the petals of several Olu. If he found enough of them, it would mimic an absorbent cloth. The issue now was getting up into a tree with a messed up arm. The gravity of his injury then hit him, and suddenly, he realized how stranded he was on this side of the river with no one to help him. Luckily here he would be safe from the Duskcrashers, but that was only a small piece taken off the top of his mountain of problems.

Walking a safe distance from the edge of the water, he finally found a tree with fruit that had fallen, and he began to tear away at the petals and lay them on top of his wound. He peeled fruit after fruit after fruit until a suitable bandage had been made, and then he bit a tendril that was climbing the trunk of a nearby tree and wrapped it around his arm. With the issue somewhat solved, he feverishly consumed a few olu before stumbling into the woods looking for anything that might make an easy shelter for when the sun went down. He walked for a long time as if in a dream, and when finally he could look for shelter no longer, he closed his eyes and rested in the shade.

When he opened them again, the sunset had ripped the sky to shreds and it bled hues that mortal men fail to put words to. Once again, the blond clambered to his feet and limped along, looking for a place that wouldn't leave him exposed. From among the foliage, a pillar of stone emerged as a stranger and a shock. The pillar was not only simply that, but around the area, stone had been laid down, now covered by layers of mulch. Using the pads of his calloused feet to feel out the path, the blond followed it to a set of stairs and before him appeared a doorway into a large tree trunk. The tree towered over its brothers and sisters, but it was not unusual to see one this large. The entrance was dark, and it brought a feeling of foreboding into the teen's heart, almost to the point where he was tempted to leave, but his curiosity also urged him forward. Either way, if he stayed out there, he was at risk, and in here, well…

He just didn't know.

He had never been somewhere like this before. Not able to see much, he noted how leaves had piled up inside and were unturned, which meant nothing had come through this area in a long time. Taking that as a note to be reassured on, he dropped to the ground and covered himself with the leaves for camouflage and warmth. It was a long night.

To say he awoke would be a lie, it was more that the sun finally rose and his fear of not surviving the night was now overcome. With light, he could see further into the entrance that sloped gradually downward, but his inability to defend himself kept him from pushing deeper into the cavern. His brain struggled to piece things together. If man was millions of miles away, and the people he had come with had been the first to arrive here, then…? The possibilities made him shiver. His father had told him somewhere long ago in his hazy memories that everything on this world was similar to their world in one way or another. If that meant the animals were similar, and the odd tree had magenta leaves, then so be it. But if man had a warped doppelganger, a twin that was not more than a mirror image and a shadow combined...something in his soul was stirred to fear at the idea. He was scared of the Lake Lizards.

But he was more scared of what was down that tunnel, so he followed that path far away.

Terror kept him from turning around to see if anything was following.

~o~

After a week of living on Zeno, the idea that there had been generations before Axel's that had lived in the luxury of this much water available to them all the time made the redhead laugh. The simple drink of cool crisp water whenever he wanted it made him shake his head because he didn't have to ask anymore. He could just have it and not worry. The rest of the crew acted similarly because a whole lifestyle had been undone in a night. They could waste water as odd as it sounded. They could drink as much as they wanted, bathe in it, splash each other with it. None of them had experienced a hot spring before, but after a simple dip, they couldn't imagine ever going back. "Alright," Axel laughed, drying himself off with a towel, "Let's get heading back. It's going to get dark soon."

There was little resistance from the group for every time they ventured out of the ship, the complex was still fresh on their mind, "We should bag one of those parrot monkeys and leave the corpse out to attract the predators and then have ourselves a little hunting party." Larxene snickered.

"Or snag one of those gator things. I wouldn't feel as bad about shooting one of those as I would nailing the parrots." Marluxia offered, "Try avoid shooting things that don't attack us."

Demyx was the last out of the water, "Ah, but we don't know if they don't attack us." He gave his companion a smug grin.

"I tend to agree with Marluxia." Axel sighed, "I don't want to shoot a parrot monkey. I'll do a gator tomorrow."

Saix, who had refused to join them in the hot springs broke in with his opinion, "Don't shoot a gator. It's too much work. The only way to lure them is to put someone at danger, and we need you as sad as I am to say. If you got injured, that would mean way too much alone time with you. There has to be plenty of deerlike things here. Find one, kill it."

"A little hunting party indeed," Larxene purred as Saix stalked off with Marluxia and Demyx in tow, "He still likes you." She whispered.

Axel grunted; there wasn't anything to say.

~o~

Sunreavers were easy to hunt as far as fish went. They were easy to see with their large blue and gold reflective fins, and they held good meat. They weren't very tasty, but they were a quick catch. The blond was too weak to catch one, so he settled on digging up an Unto a vegetable that grew beneath the ground. It could only be found if one had been trained to recognize the orange coral flowers that grew above it. The flowers could prick and held a trace amount of venom which caused a major irritation to the bearer of those wounds, so the best way to go about securing this meal was to take a long stick and beat the flowers off of the Unto. He did so and then cracked open the gourd and scraped out the pulpy flesh to consume it. Feeling a bit better now that he had eaten, he approached the bridge again. His only option was to gun it and hope for the best. His right arm was in no condition to be nicked again, and his back still ached from where he had been clawed.

Taking a few calming breaths, he closed his eyes. The bridge would be rickety, if he fell, he would be dead. With this in mind, he lunged forward. When the pads of his feet hit the fallen logs, he was forced to slow, but he still continued as quickly as he could. The Lake Lizards must have been still full from a recent meal because he made it. Chest heaving with laboured breaths now that he stood solidly on the east bank, he kneeled to the soil and let himself cry a little. The tears carved a pathway down his dusty cheeks, but the victory that he had made it another day inspired him to rejoice a bit.

Walking back to the nests, Nene dropped down beside him and whistled at him. She surveyed his injuries and hissed before clapping her hands together to signal that the Lake Lizards had done it, not that he hadn't known that. Hooting at her, he whistled the tone for Staltag's name and turned his head. She shook her head, and the action struck him odd. The reply he received after that made his head feel empty. He wasn't to come back to the nests. 'Clan Mother says your kind have returned. We are your parents no more.'

Crinkled brows conveyed his distress of not wanting to go back, and she scampered away. Nene had done her job, and she owed him nothing more. This meant his only option for shelter now, unable to climb a tree and the ground ,no safe haven, was to go back to the complex. A tight feeling grew in his stomach, and his distress which had evaporated once he had crossed the river, now felt heavy and sickening. It hung over him like a cloak. To go back was to submit himself to questions that would never end, but to refuse to return was a death sentence. Crossing the river was out of the question after what had happened the day before, and he marched reluctantly towards his fate.

~o~

Axel had never actually seen an alive cow or deer in his life. He was pretty sure deer were on the verge of extinction back on earth, and cows took a lot of water, so meat was for the truly rich. Zeno now made food options viable that he may not have even considered before, and as the redhead and Larxene crept through the forest searching for some of the horselike creatures they'd seen, he almost laughed. Never in a million years when he was a child, would he have dreamed of doing this. His thoughts were interrupted by the blonde woman to his side pointing at some redbrown animals grazing in a patch of forest. The largest of them was only the size of a baby horse, which made targeting them a bit difficult. The creatures were also extremely fast, so they only had one shot. Switching off the safety on their guns, the two lined up their shots. Again, a short countdown began, "One, two, three…"

His shot missed about a foot wide, but Larxene's tore through the biggest one and the creature dropped to the ground as the other beasts screamed before bolting away, "Steaks on me tonight." She winked, waiting for the gun to cool, switching on the safety, and holstering it.

"Damn, Larxene. Making me feel a bit self-conscious. You sure know how to make a boy have penis envy." He laughed as he escorted her to the fallen creature and drag it back.

"Any bigger, and your boyfriend might want me instead of you." She teased.

"Ex boyfriend." Axel quickly corrected her, "Sure got dark fast."

Looking up to the sky, she nodded, "Seasons must be changing...Should we leave it here or bring it back to the ship? We might get caught out if we try to drag it all the way."

"It's fine. Go ahead and tell them that we bagged some food and we'll be a little late in case any of them want to help out, but I don't want to leave this here since it's the first meat we've gotten since we've landed."

Nodding, she tore away to head back to the ship, "We should have remembered a fucking walkie talkie!" She laughed.

The redhead made no comment and arduously continued his task. As the sun clipped behind some tree, he grew concerned as threads of light began to slip away. Maybe he should leave it here… A howl no more than a half a mile behind him where they had shot the animal made the hairs on the back of his neck bristle, and suddenly, fight or flight instincts kicked in. Suddenly the threat of being locked out became real, but his desire to provide the food they had gotten still remained higher. Drawing his gun, he decided to stay and wait for help.

Duskcrashers had encountered humans before. They hunted in a pack, and they were more feline in appearance than one would expect other than their large teeth that reminded Axel of wolves. The omega in the pack came into view in front of him, but the redhead was a strategists, and he realized what was going on before he could hear a yelp to his left. Turning to shoot the creature, a presence behind him meant that he was surrounded, "Jesus, you guys really are smart…" He had read in the settlers' diaries that the beasts on Zeno were smarter than anything they had encountered on earth. Breaking into a run, the Duskcrashers quickly pursued, more interested in the game of the hunt than in the meat that they could claim. Breaking out of the edge of the woods, Larxene and a small group were standing in the port, "Axel, behind you!" Demyx shouted. The predators had closed in quickly, and it was certainly too far to the ship. Continuing his vain sprint to safety, the animals dropped back when a yowl from the alpha meant that their leader was in danger from something.

That something was the end of the blond's spear as he drove it down the Duskcrasher's throat. Pulling himself away before the others could return, he clambered up into a tree best he could. While he was not guaranteed safety due to low hanging branches, his ability to get to a place where the limbs would be too thin to support the creatures' weight was his only hope. Sure enough, the five other members of the pack soon were clawing at the tree, trying to make their way up. While the teen watched them struggle, Axel struggled for breath within the safety of the ship, "Holy fuck that was a close one." He grabbed his chest to feel his pounding chest.

Eyes wide, the crew nodded, that was too close a near death experience for most of them, "I warned you." Xemnas commented simply, "You're very lucky that they decided to pursue something else last minute."

The redhead glared at him, but continued to breathe deeply through his nose, "Maybe the meat will be there tomorrow." He spoke mostly to himself out of hope that he hadn't lost them dinner.

"Just leave it, Axel." Larxene sighed, "Let's get some rest. You tried your best." The day survived by all was put to rest.

~o~

Before the others could wake the next morning, the redhead slipped out from beneath his covers to see if Larxene's kill was still where he had lost it. The sun was already up beaming its friendly warmth down upon all, and while the other crew may have still been asleep, the jungle boy was wide awake. His arm was feeling much better, and there was no sign of infection. He still had to be fairly careful to insure that the scabs didn't tear, but overall, the blond was thankful to the stars that he could move freely through the trees again. As he pondered where to find a meal, blue eyes spotted the tall man from the Crystal Pool. Watching him walk with vivid fascination, he noticed that the redhead was moving to the Sprinter that the Duskcrasher had been sniffing at when the teen had stumbled into one of their hunts. It had been luck that he had caught the Alpha by surprise. A Borap was slithering up the tree nearby the redhead, and the blond wondered if the furry serpent was thinking about making the redhead his meal. As the soldier kneeled to inspect the Sprinter, the jungle boy crept along so as not to alert the Borap or human.

Sliding down a vine behind the pink fuzzed creature, he reached out behind its head with his hand and fisted its neck, so it couldn't move to bite him. It struggled wildly with its lower half, but the blond was much stronger and choked it to death quickly. "You're gonna die out here, ya know." He commented casually, throwing the snake down beside the other. It was a far fall and the thump of the serpent hitting the ground was loud.

Axel was still trying to figure out where the voice had come from that had startled him near to death, "Demyx is that you?" Couldn't be Demyx. Everyone was still asleep, but his hope that he wasn't simply hearing voices out in the woods was his dearest wish since no other humans were supposedly alive.

"Nope, nice try, though." The blond remained still from where he was hanging on his vine, "You're a soldier type. I can tell. The smart type don't wear clothes like that."

"You mean a uniform?" Axel continued to sweep the ground level with his eyes, "Yeah, I'm a soldier." Where was this little fucker? Was this some animal or was it- was it a person? "How old are you?"

The teen had to think about that one, "I dunno. Not as old as you."

Vague. Nicely answered, "Calling me old?" The redhead laughed, "I'm not even thirty." He was about to hit twenty-eight here in a bit. "Are you a human?"

Sliding down to the next branch, he watched as Axel started to search the trees, "Yes and yes."

The redhead wasn't trained for this kind of bullshit, "What's your name?" Was there another group of people living on Zeno? Had more of the colonists survived and relocated?

Not wanting to answer the question, the blond began to creep away, "Goodbye, Mister."

After all, there was a lot to do that day.

~o~

Axel felt conflicted on whether he should share his experience in the woods. On one hand, there was a survivor that had lasted five years in the jungles of Zeno all on their own. On the other, there was the fact that he hadn't seen the person, and the crew would probably think he was nuts. "I know you hate me." He whispered to Saix after Larxene had left with the others, "But we need to talk."

"What about?" The blue haired man grunted.

The redhead frowned, "This morning I went out to see if the horse thing we had shot was still there. Well it was and I dragged it back, you guys can see that. What I didn't mention was that while I was out there...someone- someone talked to me." He watched Saix's face closely for a moment, "Like not, 'I think I heard voices talked to me', but there was an actual human being that responded to my actual questions. I even asked, "Are you human?" And they said yeah. It was a man's voice, and then I went, "How old are you?" And they didn't really give me an answer, but they had a sense of humor. I think I met one of the kids whose bodies we didn't find. I think one of them survived."

It was plausible, and Saix knew that. The only issue was how they could have made it out in the jungle that long, "You didn't see them?"

"No, I'm pretty sure he was in the trees. He- I guess he saw a snake thing about to make a go for me, and he killed it before he told me off. He gave me the whole, 'You'll die out here' thing." He pursed his lips, "I'm completely serious, Saix."

"I know you are." He snarled, "I was just thinking. I didn't say I thought you were lying. Anyways, you have no reason to lie. You only lie when you have something to gain."

"Petty feelings aside." Axel spat back, "What should we do?"

"I'll tell the crew tonight. Do you think the person will come back? The only two it could be was a girl named Erix or the one boy, Roxas. They were the only two under the age of eighteen. It's probably Roxas. Next time we make contact, we'll see if he responds to that name."

"So it's a kid? How old is he?"

"Now? He's probably about seventeen. Then he was about eleven or twelve with the mind of a seven year old. Stasis can really put someone behind if they're a child. They lose crucial years of development. We're dealing with a thirteen year old more than a man."

"It could be a one time deal, though. What if he never appears again?" Axel nibbled on his bottom lip.

Saix laughed, a sound the redhead hadn't heard since they had left Earth,"Then he never does, but we should at least all know his name. After all, he's our closest neighbor for light years, and it might be good to have a local on our side."

~o~

A week after that, a flashlight and fifty yards of rope disappeared. Demyx who was in charge of equipment searched to the moon and back for it, "Seriously! I can't fucking find it! And I know for a fact that no one checked it out! There was no need for rope in the last week!"

"Who took it?" Xemnas thundered, "Come on now, we're grown adults. Someone own up!"

The person who was responsible wouldn't have been intimidated regardless. After crossing the river, the blond worked on retracing his steps from that fateful night. When he found the pillar again, he felt his heart begin to pound. There was something about this place, abandoned or not, that made him feel like he was trespassing. Moving back to the doorway that he had hidden in from the night, the blond flipped on the flashlight. The noises of the jungle behind him seemed to fade away as he entered the hallway, and the normally hot air thick with humidity dropped to a cool comfortable temperature. Painting himself with bravery, he descended down into the earth even once the entry way's light had grown faint. Then there upon the wall in front of him read in characters unknown a sign. Unsure of which way to go, he shined his flashlight down each hallway; the idea of becoming lost in a labyrinth frightened him. As he continued to mull his options over, he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the right, and the teen quickly retreated back the way he had come not wanting to be eaten by some animal he'd never seen or be confronted by something else. Scampering up a tree once he was outside, he watched the entrance for a long while, growing sleepy in the sun. When nothing emerged, he crossed the river again hoping to be able to return his supplies before the crew could notice he had taken it.

Creeping through the grass to the ship after passing through the complex and counting off six of them, he hid there for a time waiting to see who remained. It was possible they had another crew member he had never seen other than the redhead. When he decided that everyone appeared to be out, the blond crept forward softly, hoping to simply drop the supplies inside. As his feet hit cool medal, a small chirping could be heard and his balance was stolen from him as he fell forward. Axel, who had been pretending to sleep in case the gravity polarizer didn't work, suddenly sprung to his feet, "Gotcha!" He declared in victory moving from his bunk towards his dusty captive. "No wonder I couldn't see you in the trees, you're a dirty little thing. Saix was right when he said you'd be young, Roxas."

A small hiss escaped between his lips as his cheek pressed against the floor of the hangar, "Lemme up."

"Nope, not until you answer some of my questions." The redhead sat down beside him, careful to avoid the thin laser that could temporarily increase the force on an object, "Your mom was the biologist, right?" When he didn't get an answer and simply a firm glare, he removed one of the knives from his belt, "Right?"

The blond snorted, "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would." Axel cut away one of the dirty dreads to show how sharp the knife was, "You're a total baby face. Your hair got this long, but you didn't even need to shave." He snorted, "Now tell me or you'll receive a totally wicked hairstyle to show your bird monkey friends."

"They're not my friends anymore." Roxas muttered feeling the threat as a real one, though.

"What? Speak up?" He sliced off another clump of hair.

"I said they're not my friends anymore! I got kicked out since you guys landed! And yes! Doctor Alvenstein is my mother!" He cried in distress, "Let me up! Please!" The small blond attempted to thrash, but he could barely lift his hand.

Axel noted how the kid referred to her as still living when documentation would show otherwise, " You got kicked out?" He asked curiously, " How did you even get taken in by them in the first place?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He hissed as chunks of tangled hair began to be hacked off.

"You got lice, kid." Axel made a face after the blond had received an adequate haircut, "Or whatever the fuck they call them on Zeno."

"Yeah, well bugs find you fast here." Roxas sulked disliking his already cleaner head.

The redhead laughed, "Well don't worry, I'll take care of that for you."

The teen squawked as a bucket of cold water was dumped on him. "I'll talk! I'll talk!" He whined worried for what was coming next.

"Nope, too late." The older man worked on sudding the wiry hair with the crew's strong anti-insect shampoo.

"I hate this. You're mean. Let me go." He cried, "I helped you! I saved you! This is torture!"

Rolling his eyes, Axel continued to clean the kid up, " It's a bath. Not bamboo up your fingernails. When was the last time you wore clothes?" He picked at the leather covering, "So the monkeys kicked you out because they want you to be a human again?"

"Yeah," He wiggled, "Stop touching me!"

The redhead scrubbed the other's scalp hard, and Roxas bit his lip as he enjoyed the sensation. No one had washed his hair like this since his mom. Actually, his mother had been the last person to touch him. She had kissed him goodnight after his prayers, "And I guess you still want to be a bird monkey?"

"I didn't want to get asked a lot of questions! And now I am! All because of that stupid flashlight!" Roxas shrieked in distress, remembering that the man was his enemy regardless of his nice another splash of water to rinse the kid, Axel began to clip his nails. "Stop it!" This time it wasn't one of protest, but of actual fear. Blue eyes watered in terror. "That hurts!"

"This is a nail clipper." Axel decided to explain, "To make your nails presentable."

"Nails are for protection. Don't pluck them off!" Roxas squirmed feeling the gravity polarizer's affect begin to fade.

The redhead looked over his progress so far, "Fine. You can keep your nails. So what if I promised you we wouldn't ask you any questions? What if you just help us out? You know what everything is. You've made it this long. We have more colonists on their way, and we need to secure the complex before they get here."

"...I- I don't know." He swallowed, "The Duskcrashers killed everyone once. I don't want to be there when it happens again."

Duskcrashers? Oh, the wolf tiger things."That's why we need you kid." Axel sighed, "So it doesn't happen again. Look, I know this is a lot to lay on you since I just scrubbed ya down and took you hostage, but we really do need your help." He bound Roxas' hands and feet with a cord of rope, "This is just for a bit until the crew gets back and decides what to do with you. They put me in charge of you since you've talked to me before. We aren't going to hurt you." Turning the gravity polarizer off, he moved the blond so he was sitting in a chair, "Come on, I'll teach you to play Solitaire while we wait."

~o~

Roxas was actually surprisingly good at Solitaire, and by the time everyone had gotten back from patching up the complex and getting water from the pond, he was much more willing to open up and talk. "So this is the little ruffian who stole the supplies." Xemnas grunted, eyeing the kid with distrust. "Anyone who has made it in the jungle five years alone must be very willing to kill."

"Kill or be killed." Roxas chirped, "That's what my dad always told me." The words sounded weird coming from the blond, who appeared much more presentable due to Axel's help, but only his upper half. His feet and legs still remained covered with mud. Xemnas continued to leer and appear bigger than he actually was, but it was clear that it was having no affect on the teen, "Move the black three to the four." Roxas mumbled to Axel.

The redhead obeyed, and Demyx laughed. "More like Ruckus than Roxas, am I right? Kid, you nearly caused me a fuckin' heart attack! I looked everywhere for this shit." He picked up the flashlight and rope and moved the equipment back to its designated spot.

"What were you using that stuff for anyways?" Larxene inquired to the distracted blond who was trying to figure out where to play his jack.

"Well, I found a road n' followed it to a door and the door went deep into the earth, so I needed the flashlight, but then I heard footsteps coming from one of the other hallways, so I left." He answered honestly as his parents had commanded him to always tell the truth, and the crew gaped.

"The honest fuck." Saix grunted, "You're telling us that there's some group of people already here?"

"I actually don't know if they're people." Roxas hummed, "I never saw anything, but don't worry, they're on the other side of the river, and they probably won't cross because of the Lake Lizards. The Skymonkeys probably know what they are, but they aren't speaking to me anymore."

"A regular fucking Tarzan." Axel snorted, "Anyways, can I undo his bindings?" He asked the captain.

Xemnas nodded, "He's not going to cause us trouble, right?"

The redhead hadn't considered that, "Are you going to bolt on us?"

"Depends. If you try to eat me, then yes."

"We aren't going to eat you." Axel rolled his eyes while Roxas burst into a fit of laughter.

"That was a joke!"

Saix watched the exchange taking note. While the blond did appear to be seventeen, he was certainly socially behind, but mentally capable. There most likely wouldn't be an issue with him. "You've already cut his hair and made him take a shower?" He directed towards Axel who had taken out his knife to cut Roxas free.

"Hmm? No, I just dumped some water on him. I didn't make him shower. Wasn't about to go that far, but I did cut his hair."

Once the blond had his hands free, he made a stubborn face, "Not gonna shower anyways. I don't bathe anywhere but the Crystal Pool. If you don't bathe there, the Criggles get you."

"Criggles?" Marluxia couldn't resist the temptation to ask.

"The bugs. I only had 'em because I fell in the river when the Lake Lizards got me!" He showed the crew his large wounds that were still healing on his arm and back, "I killed a huge one a few days ago! Twice as big as I am tall!"

"Well then, Steve Irwin." Axel laughed.

"Steve Irwin didn't kill the 'gators, dumbass." Larxene scoffed, "Are we totally forgetting the fact that he admitted we're not alone on this planet?"

Xemnas sat down at the table as Roxas stood and flexed his hands, looking around,"Well, we always knew it was a possibility. Roxas, you know a lot about this planet, correct?"

"Zeno? I guess. I was only on earth a few years. I've been here longer." He coughed a bit, "But I don't know if you can live here like you could on earth. This place has different rules. That's why everyone else got eaten. Erix wouldn't eat anything I brought her after that. She was sad for a long time before she died. I got taken in by Stalgart pretty fast, but the Skymonkeys never wanted her."

"You've seemed to name all of the creatures." Xemnas pointed out to Marluxia, "So I suppose you know where to find them as well?"

"Well, I can't find small things like Boraps or Denaps, but I can find food things like Sunreavers or Sprinters or plants pretty fast." He scratched at his back, "And I know when all the scary things are out and about. Like Duskcrashers only come out at night, and the Lake Lizards are only in the river. That's why you can use the Crystal Pond for most things, but you have to be careful about using it in the spring because the Cluea trees have poisoness flowers that fall in the river in the spring, but that's only for about a week after the Skymonkeys come back from migration to the ocean."

"..." There was a period of silence from everyone as they realized how little of the world they'd actually scratched, and what more was out there unknown. "Roxas," Xemnas cleared his throat, "We'd be very honored if you'd stay with us as one of our crew to help us rebuild the complex."

Turning, the teenager watched everyone's faces carefully, "I don't know…"

"You could have the best of both worlds here." Marluxia pointed out.

"All we ask," Xemnas stated quickly, "Is that you allow one of our people, such as Larxene-" Her face said everything when it turned to a grimace of inaudible disgust, "To stay with you always. You'd be free to leave whenever you want as long as someone was with you."

Reluctantly, the blond agreed, hoping that the redhead would be his partner instead of the bodacious woman. She would probably only boss him around, and Axel was much more of a pushover.

Xemnas smiled, "Good. We'll prepare you a cot. Welcome to the crew."

~o~

"How fucking dare you." Larxene snarled once the other men had headed to the bath along with the new puppy that followed at their heels. "How fucking dare you, you precocious ignoramus."

Xemnas grunted as he was pinned against the wall of the ship, gun digging harshly into his side, "What ever do you mean?" He asked coolly watching Larxene's green eyes flash with ire.

"Don't give me that shit." She hissed, spittle flying from her lips. Her fist held the pilot's shirt so tightly that seams broke as she continued, "Throwing me out there like a piece of meat to lure some little hormonal cunt we've found in the Goddamn fucking woods to join the crew. You didn't think I would notice? Did you? Well let me tell you this, you pompous fucker, I am the only fucking woman on this sausage fest of a crew for a fucking reason. I earned my way here. I didn't just cruise to the top. I worked my way here on the backs of men that I had to literally had to fucking break. Do you know how hard it is to get promoted as a woman in the army? Let me tell you this, so hard that I wouldn't think fucking twice about shooting you in the side and then desecrating your body in the most disgusting ways. I am not just a pretty face. I knew that coming here with this crew would be dangerous for me even if the colonists hadn't died. There was only eight women, plus me, there would of been nine against almost twenty seven, and if you fuckers think for a moment that I was going to trust you, you're wrong. You're going to reassign Roxas to one of the others." She released the captain, gun still digging harshly into his ribs, "Maybe Marluxia." Larxene suggested sweetly, "And don't ever make another connotation about my body or insinuate like that ever again, or you'll lose that stick between your legs that makes you a man and see how it feels to be a woman, because let me tell you this, it's hard. And you won't like it after that sweet privilege you've been riding on all your life."

Too frightened to say something for a moment, Xemnas had no smart thing to say and simply let her walk away. When everyone else had gotten back to camp, Marluxia and Demyx took shift on standing guard while Larxene took her bath at the Crystal Pool. With them gone, that left Zexion, Saix, and Axel to talk to about solving his immediate problem. Keeping in mind who Roxas might like, he prompted Zexion, "Would you like to head out with Roxas tomorrow for him to help you find and name natural landmarks?"

"I thought he was dumped on Larxene." Zexion sighed, "I guess it's fine, though. He might help vastly improve the maps we currently have."

"If you don't want him, then who do you suggest I give him to?" Xemnas arched a brow. He didn't want to cause Zexion, one of his favorites, any trouble.

"Give him to Axel! He's been treating him like his middle school brother since we left for the bath! Wouldn't be surprised if Saix isn't jealous by how well the two have hit it off."

Taking the information into consideration, Xemnas decided it would be for the absolute best, "Axel, I've decided to reassign Roxas to you, alright?"

The delight that flickered in the redhead's eyes wasn't missed, but for dignity's sake, he still had to protest, "Come on, Sir! Don't I already have enough work?"

"No fighting this one. I'm calling in to home base tonight about today. It's official." The silver haired man asserted.

Axel nodded solemnly, "Well, alright, Sir."

Tomorrow was going to be the best day ever.

~o~

Roxas was up at the crack of dawn, which greatly disturbed the redhead as he was shaken awake, "I have to pee." The blond whined.

"We have a perfectly good toilet right over there." He waved the other off.

Giving it a distrustful inspection, the teen frowned, "I'm gonna go right here if you don't take me out."

Axel opened his eyes and when he saw how serious the other was, he gave a long groan as he rolled out from beneath the warm covers to put on his boots and then escorted the other onto the bridge to quietly head down out into the jungle. "You're like a dog."

"A what?" Roxas asked, whipping himself out to urinate in the grass.

"They're animals." The redhead turned and busied himself for a minute until the blond was done, "Ready to go back inside?"

"No, I want food."

"Jesus Christ." He should have put pants on, "Will you let me go get dressed first, so I'm not out here in my boxers?" There was a pause as if his companion was really considering the idea of 'no', but then he nodded. "Thank you, your royal highness." Axel headed back inside for a few minutes before popping back out to see Roxas looking at the sky oddly, "What is it?"

"It's almost time to go south." He spoke softly, "You can feel it in the air."

Axel looked for the invisible thing the blond was staring at, but decided it wasn't something important, "I forgot you're part bird. Well, come on lil buddy. Let's go get you some food. What do you normally eat?"

"Well normally when I was with the Skymonkeys we killed one of the young and drained its blood for breakfast." He stated completely straight faced while the redhead stopped dead in his tracks from horror.

"That's another one of your jokes, I hope." He laughed awkwardly, "You didn't actually…?"

"No Axel." Roxas laughed, "I usually have fruit in the morning. Olu are the best for breakfast. And they're easy to store if you want to take some around for a snack later."

As the trees littered with thick pink flowers came into view, Axel's brain simply appreciated the beauty for a minute as Roxas began to climb up into the branches to pick the squishy fruits out of the waxy flowers' centers and drop them down for the redhead to catch. After seven had been picked, the blond worked his way to the ground again to eat, "These are mine." He hissed when Axel tried to pick one up, "Get your own."

"Whoa there!" The taller man was taken aback, "Sorry. Didn't know. Thought you were sharing."

Sharing wasn't a word that Roxas knew that well and he had vague memories of his mother telling him to share with Erix. He was tempted to give the other one, but then he decided against it, "You need to learn to climb trees. You all live too nice. You're out of shape."

"Just because I'm not swimming from sharks and wrestling wolves doesn't mean I'm out of shape." Axel snorted, heading for the trunk of the tree to climb it fairly easy. He wasn't as smooth as Roxas, but he didn't struggle either. After he had picked twenty or so, he ate his fill and filled his shirt up with the others, "I'm sure the crew would like some fresh fruit for breakfast, guaranteed safe by you."

Roxas shrugged, "There's a Camosi patch a bit further away. Those are okay to eat, but they make my brain fuzzy."

"They make you drunk?"

"Um...I don't know about that? They just make me feel all floaty." The blond scrunched his brows together, "And we have work today, so don't eat those."

"Oh, I won't, but I'm glad to know about Camosies, thank you." Axel laughed. He was sure some of the other crew members would be grateful as well. "Larxene and the others are going to go repaire more of the complex today. Do you have any helpful suggestions for us?"

"Drag the alpha Duskcrashers rotting building and mount it in town square to lure the others in and kill them there." Roxas shrugged, "They like to find their dead and hide them. They haven't been back for the alpha yet because I didn't hear them howling, so the alpha's body must not have begun to rot that much."

"...Kid, talking to you is refreshing, but also a downer." He sighed, "But notes taken. I will talk to Larxene about that one."

The blond walked beside the other in the shade for a moment in silence, "Is Larxene really a girl?"

Axel laughed, "Yes, Larxene is really a girl, but I understand your confusion. Sometimes she acts like she has a bigger penis than me."

"Larxene would be the Clan Mother if we were like the monkeys. And you would all worship her and wish that she would select you for mating." Roxas spoke objectively as if stating the weather.

This brought questions to Axel's mind, though. How would a seventeen year old boy survive years without any girls around (or in his case boys)? "You never did anything sexual with the monkeys did you?" He asked softly, not wanting to offend the blond.

The blond's cheeks went aflame, "No! I may have been all alone, but I know that's wrong! That is disgusting that you even asked!"

"Okay! Sorry, sorry! And I've never been clambering for Larxene. I don't go that way." He stated simply.

Roxas gave him a confused look now that he had recovered from his outrage, "What do you mean?"

"I'm gay, Roxas. I'm attracted to men. I only want to have sex with guys. I had sex with Saix if that clarifies anything for you." He watched the other's face for a reaction.

If the teen felt anything, he didn't show it, "I don't want to think about these things." He finally said, "It makes me feel ill in my heart. You are all adults, but I will always be alone. I am not one of you, and for that, I will never find my pair. It hurts me."

"There's more colonists coming soon." The redhead pointed out, "You could have some pretty colonist girl. You'd make a fine husband."

The fear of the footsteps in the darkness of that secret hallways was overcome by a dread of Axel's words, but Roxas did not know why. "I don't want to talk about this anymore." They walked back in silence. The rustle of the grass beneath them was the only sounds they made.

~o~

They solved their problems one by one. First, they followed the blond's advice and killed off over half the pack in a single display of might. The bloated bodies now surrounded the town rotting in the sun, serving as a warning to all predators that might dare to enter. After that, they only heard the occasional howl, but never saw a Duskcrasher again within the area of the complex. With the problem solved, they were finally able to move into the buildings and get everything completely running. Their final issue was figuring out how to get a steady food supply. To which Roxas solved by showing them where the Unto kept its seeds and what kind of soil certain plants liked. The blond also showed a remarkable feat of strength and wrestled a baby Sprinter to the ground be ambushing it from the trees. This marked the first of their domesticated livestock. Between their small victories, there was a lot of time, and while the crew had been close in the first place, they quickly accepted Roxas as one of them due to his multiple knowledges.

As several of them lay stargazing on the roof of the bunk house, Zexion pointed to a tiny dot to their far right, "That's Earth." He announced, "Hard to believe it only felt like yesterday that we were saying goodbye to family."

"I'm glad to be off that hunk of dirt." Saix grunted, "Always having to worry about when we'd get water next. Always having to wonder if there'd be enough food that week. Zeno is significantly better. I would never return."

Marluxia's voice broke in, "I remember the first time my family didn't get water rations...My sister was sick. We begged and begged, but there just hadn't been any rain. She got so dehydrated that we had to pee into cups and give that to her to keep her alive. She ended up dying two years later. To say that this was my lucky break was an understatement. She always told me I was going to make a way for myself."

"Think that's a sob story?" Larxene laughed, "One time I tried to slash my wrists I got so sick of living on that shithole. My blood was so thick from lack of water in my system that I couldn't even bleed out."

Roxas listened and wriggled uncomfortably; Axel put a hand on his shoulder to let him know it was okay, "Got any stories, Axel?" Zexion asked.

"Nah, you know me. Army brat. Always had enough to drink." He winked at Larxene, "I know, I missed out on all of the character building you guys had. Love me anyways." There was a pause from the others, not really knowing what to say. They had assumed he had a story similar to theirs, but the differences between them left them without comment.

"Anyone want to play a round of cards?" Demyx called from downstairs.

Wanting to break the somber mood that had suddenly been made uncomfortable by Axel, Saix and Larxene jumped on the offer quickly followed by Zexion. Once they were gone, the two remaining men sprawled out on the roof that they had to themselves. "You lied." Roxas whispered causing the redhead to tense for a second.

"Yeah? How do you figure?"

The younger didn't reply and simply rolled onto his back, "I feel like I know you better than I know myself."

"Well...I guess in some ways we're best friends, Rox." The redhead offered, wondering how the other had known, "Tell me something about yourself. Something that no one knows."

The blond paused and struggled to think of something, "I like you."

"That's pretty much common knowledge, kiddo. Try again." Axel smiled, laughing a bit.

"No, not like that." The blond reached out and cupped his friend's cheek, "I like you like you still like Saix even though you say you don't." He spoke earnestly, looking deep into the other's green eyes.

Heat flooding through the older man's body, his heart searched for the right thing to say as he waited to see if this was a joke, "Roxas, you can't like me." He spoke firmly when the teasing never came, "I'm too old for you. You need to be with someone of your own age."

"There is no one of my own age." Roxas frowned, feeling rebuked, "I'm sorry. I didn't know it would make you angry."

"I'm not angry, Rox. Just...conflicted. I like you too, but...I can't like you that way. We barely know each other."

"You mean I barely know you. You know almost all there is about me minus a few things, but I can show you them." The teen promised, moving closer to his friend.

"Roxas…" Axel bit his lip and glanced down, "I just can't. There's so many reasons why. I- I-...Let's pretend this conversation never happened." And with that, he headed downstairs hoping it wasn't too late to join in the cards. The blond watched the other escape holding his shattered feelings close and crying to the stars.

~o~

Marluxia was on breakfast duty the next morning when he noticed the blond's hammock was empty, but Axel was still firmly asleep. Roxas had declared that he was uncomfortable sleeping on a bed and so Demyx had offered to make him a hammock, so that the boy would sleep better in his 'nest', "Axel. Axel." Marluxia shook the redhead gently until he got a reaction, "Roxas is gone."

"What?"

"Roxas is gone. Like he broke the rules and left without you."

"He probably just...went to go pee or something." Axel covered his head with a pillow to block out the light, but internally began to fret.

"Nah, man. I don't think so." Marluxia mumbled, "He took a flashlight and some rope. He didn't leave a note or anything. I don't think he's coming back."

~o~

Roxas stood at the bottom of a bowl where the sky was made out of bioluminescent bacteria that glowed a soft pulsing pink. His feet were cold from the rock that made up the cavern floor, and after standing there for an unknown amount of time, he took a seat. The footsteps he had heard were the pads of large rabbit like creatures that had reacted peaceably when he had finally discovered what they were. The surface of every wall was littered with scratches and divots that made up drawings that the blond could only begin to comprehend. "How long have you been gone?" He asked the people of the past. Their abandoned city stood before him, and he could see no reason why they would have ever wanted to leave. He wish he could know their stories. What kind of people had they been? Stepping across a small creek that shimmered blue from the fish that darted through it, he began to explore the empty homes one by one.

The city was a circle with a tower as its center. There was no visible door around the base of the spire, and the teen pondered its purpose as a single set of carved stairs climbed the building. Leaving that for later, he explored the town and found that some of the houses held tapestries woven from grasses or other objects. Some even had writing on pulp parchment in a language he was sure he would never understand. As he continued to search, the loud sound of boots echoing through the cavern made him stiffen. "Roxas?" Axel called, voice ricocheting off the walls of the bowl.

Hissing his frustration, the blond ran out into the street, "Moron!" He exclaimed when he had found the redhead, pushing him into one of the stone buildings, "We don't know if there's anything dangerous in here or not!"

"Yeah, so I guess you shouldn't have come here alone, dumbass!" Axel pushed him back in the confines of the house. The fact that anyone could have called this a home seemed strange to him. This was definitely not a place built for humans, "What are you thinking? Because I'm guessing you're not thinking at all."

"I thought...I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore after last night." He confessed reluctantly, "I thought you'd think I'm dumb."

"I wouldn't have thought you dumb from that, Roxas. Those are feelings. Feelings are rarely stupid. This was dumb. Do you know how freaking creepy this all is?" He asked angrily, "Really fucking creepy!"

Roxas gave him a stern look, "That's a bad word."

Axel sighed, "I can never win with you."

"Nope, so you might as well leave me alone or help me climb the tower." He puffed.

"The tower. You're climbing the fucking alien tower on the alien world in the alien cave that has fucking alien demon carvings in it. Great. Great. Okay." The redhead breathed deeply to calm himself, "Might as well, right? Gonna die someday."

Walking down the empty street in the haunting light, the blond took the older man's hand, and Axel was already too tired of the day to care. He sighed softly and shook his head, "Man, the girls are gonna blame me when they land and see that I took the only hot guy on the planet." He winked, feeling a bit awkward about hinting that Roxas was now his boyfriend when they could die any second. Roxas simply squealed delightedly. Chuckling at the noise, they continued to wander towards the spoke of the wheel. When they had reached the white stoned tower, he noted the stairs and inhaled deeply to prepare himself for the morning workout, "You're so grounded when we get home." The blond didn't understand the joke completely, but he laughed to make the other feel a bit better. After several minutes of step after step, Axel finally had to ask, "How'd you know I was lying, hmm? Last night?"

"Because you look away when you lie. You look away from whoever spoke to you. That's how I knew you lied to Zexion, and….And how I knew you lied to me when you said 'I can't'."

"I wasn't lying," The redhead began, "When I said that I became an army brat to avoid being thirsty, but that was only after my older brother abandoned us for the army. My mother was never...all there," He phrased cautiously, "And she eventually wasn't allowed any more rations because they wanted to kill her off. She was an eyesore to them. When she died, I had no option to do what was best for myself. I was very different then from who I am now. Now I am safe, but then, I would have killed anyone to avoid dying of thirst." He confessed watching Roxas lick his lips slowly.

"I've never known a drought like you guys have." The blond frowned, "I'm sorry. I will never understand."

Axel smiled, "You don't have to, Rox. I wouldn't want you to. It's an awful way to live."

They now stood on the top of the Ivory Tower looking over the city and upon a forgotten time, "Look," Roxas marveled walking towards the center of the tower where a small six foot in diameter hole had been drilled downwards, "It's hollow." He gazed into the darkness, "There's a light down there." He whispered.

Axel doubted it, but the small man's words were true, "Do you think this is how they left?"

The blond nodded slowly, "Yeah," He stated softly noting the places for hand holds, "I'm gonna try to lower the flashlight down there using my rope." Although they can't touch the bottom, they can tell that it's only twenty or so feet deeper than the fifty foot rope, "Ready to go home?" Roxas reeled up the cable.

"After all this?" The redhead laughed, "Let's sit a while." Taking Roxas' hand, he placed a kiss on the boy's knuckles, and the blond suddenly thought it was a wonderful idea to stay and chat in privacy.

"Let's waste the day away."

When they returned back to the ship later that afternoon, neither spoke a word about the layer deeper that they had seen of Zeno's never ending mystery.

~o~

As Roxas learned to love, he also learned new words. He learned about music and poetry and the history of a dead rock millions of miles away. Axel learned about the way Roxas felt when he killed something, and how he was afraid and felt small at times, but that feeling small wasn't a bad thing to the blond. Axel liked the color purple which wasn't all that naturally occuring on Zeno, but Roxas found the only purple flowers he could and brought the other a bouquet. As their love grew, they began to appreciate the way the water shimmered in the sun, and the way sweet words tasted off their lips. The sunsets seemed to melt into a pallet neither of them could have imagined, and the smell of one another after a bath was heaven.

Larxene built them a house on the edge of the compound out of trees after months of them mooning over each like idiots, "And please, just keep it down." Axel laughed as she made her exit and kissed Roxas on the forehead as the teen blushed.

To everyone's surprise, they didn't do anything (that they knew of) and continued on in their usual way. The love the two of them had was too pure to rush in Axel's eyes, and Roxas still had problems figuring out how to kiss gently. Rubbing his bruised lips, gentle was something they definitely had to work on, the redhead thought as he sighed, "Okay, Rox. Time for bed." He shoved the boy out of his lap and stood up to change into his night clothes. Watching his boyfriend from the couch, the blond frowned in the usual way he did when something heavy was crossing the mainframes of his mind. "Something up?" Axel asked, walking over to rub the smaller man's back.

"No," The blond mumbled, getting up to get into his hammock, "I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Sometimes it was twenty questions to get to what Roxas was hiding inside his head.

"About sex. I asked Saix how two men have sex since you told me that he and you used to sleep together. He told me that I should really ask you, but because he was 'technically my doctor', that he would tell me." His voice had dropped to a shy whisper as Axel was engrossed in listening to this story unfold. His mind focused on his boyfriend's words, but at the same time, Oh God, Saix knew that we're going to have sex soon. Awkward. "And um, I know now about what we're supposed to do, so I was hoping that we could...have sex."

The redhead paused, "Roxas, I don't know what kind of ideas you have about sex, about love, but I just want you to know that this is a really big step, but meaningless at the same time. People on Earth have sex with each other all the time, and it means nothing. But," He added, "It can also be the ultimate expression of love. People can feel physically and emotionally satisfied by sex, and I don't want you to think of it as something you can do with just anyone to feel good."

"I don't think of it that way." Roxas guarded himself suddenly feeling attacked, "I want to do it with you."

"Well um...You can't just like, request it and it happens, I mean you can, but...Not right now. We have to be in the mood." He laughed sheepishly.

The blond gave him a look, "In the mood. So you mean erect. Kind of like you were getting a couple of minutes ago when we were kissing." He smirked.

"Shut up!" Axel laughed, throwing a pillow at him. "Yeah, kind of like that, but some other time. Promise. Love you, Roxas. Good night, okay? I'm turning off the lights."

"Good night, Axel."

Days came and went, and eventually the heat between them from dancing around one another after their conversation became too much. "Gentle, Rox." Axel hissed as the blond bit at his neck, "Use your lips! Not your teeth!" There was no way he was letting this mouth near his dick, he thought as the teen pressed himself against the redhead.

The blond simply giggled and ground his hips roughly against his boyfriend's, "I love you."

"You're trouble. You're a ruckus, not a Roxas." He moaned at the friction, running his hands up and down the tan boy's beautiful ribs, "You really should wear a shirt. You're gonna get cancer."

"What's that?" He removed Axel's shirt, dropping it to the floor of their cabin and began working kisses across the older man's freckled chest.

The redhead clutched blond curls and shook his head, "Nothing." He moved to kiss his lover some more, "You're so sexy." He purred.

Roxas laughed softly and pressed his palm to his partner's crotch before clutching it softly, "I've seen your penis before, but I've never seen it hard." He exhaled, feeling a bit dizzy, "It's bigger than mine."

"Well, I am taller than you." Axel teased, kneeling, "Here, does this make it better?" He asked, undoing the lone button of his boyfriend's single pair of tattered shorts and lowering them over the curve of Roxas' hips, "I love you." He promised, kissing the revealed skin softly, "I love you." He repeated again, placing his lips around the blond's erection and sucking the cap before licking the length.

A choir of pants and moans broke free from the teen, and his hands which had been placed flat against the wall found their way to Axel's hair where they clutched their desperately, "I need you, Axel!" His blood pounded in his temples as his heart thundered in his chest.

The ordeal was over quicker than it took to start, and Axel came jacking off in his hand while Roxas orgasmed hard from his first blowjob. It was messy and rough. It ended with the two of them laughing and trying to figure out what they did right and what they did wrong, "Was it good for you?" Axel asked.

"Yeah, sorry for not doing anything for you." Roxas kissed his lover's chest, "I feel kind of guilty about being selfish."

The redhead laughed, "Aw, I'm used to your selfishness, babe." He joked, "Don't worry. Your moans were reward enough. They were very hot if I do say so myself."

"I'm sure we'll get teased about it tomorrow." The blond hid his face against Axel's side.

"Let 'em tease."

~o~

When the colonist arrive, the crew is ready, and civilization has been built scrap by scrap, day by day. Roxas is their silent leader, teaching by example with Axel at his side. The sixty people are split up into twenty men and forty women. Women make up the majority, so that the men who arrived in the first two waves might have a chance to find someone. Both the blond and redhead could have their pick, but it is clear to all that they want nothing to do with anyone else but each other, except to Kixa who in a soft lilt requests daily for the older boy to show her around and what is okay to eat. Regardless of what people say to her, she had her heart determined on the blond who had made it clear that he would be spending his nights with Axel in their house and only with Axel.

The point doesn't seem to hit her until she boldly interrupts the two feeding each other Camosi in a fit of giggles.

Not in the state to string two words together, Roxas snorted at her gawking in their doorway and continued whispering nonsense to his boyfriend, placing sweet kisses to his juice stained lips. "I'm sorry." Axel apologized to her since the blond who had switched to lapping at his neck was in no state to do it.

Blushing, she closed the door, "No, it's my fault! I'm sorry! I just came to see- To see Roxas..."

"That's me." The blond cooed in the redhead's ear.

"I know." Axel replied softly, laughing a bit before kissing him and speaking to Kixa, "We'll probably be busy all night, but he should be available tomorrow."

"O-Of course."

Tomorrow is revealed to be full of betrayal at town hall, "To begin populating, we need everyone to do their part." Xemnas explained as several angry women who made up the two's suitors glared at them, "There's currently not enough men for all of the women, and we're keeping strict policy to one man to every woman. If you two could just please select someone, it would make everything a lot easier. Even Saix has found someone."

"Yeah, Berexev who looks like a man." Axel snickered, elbowing his boyfriend.

"Look, this is not a joke." Xemnas growled, "This is a very serious matter about your...your….affair!" He struggled for the word. "It's inappropriate!"

"It was fine when no one else was here!" Roxas shouted, "And you need me more than I need all of you!"

The truth in the words was heavy, and the captain sighed not knowing how to admit defeat to the persistent women. To be honest, he didn't really want to win. It was clear to everyone but a handful that Axel and Roxas belonged together, "Then I'm going to have to ask you to leave the town premises. If you are no longer citizens, you are not bound by the charter and are then not subject to the rules. As a fellow town, though, we'd be allowed to trade with you."

Was Xemnas giving them a loophole? Axel's brows knotted as he spoke slowly, "Well I guess you can just declare us the first two citizens of Skymonkey Monastery. We're going to have to request domain of the Crystal Pool, but you are allowed to use our waters anytime."

"I find these borders agreeable." He shook the redhead's and blond's hand to the horror of a portion of their audience. Demyx, Zexion, Larxene, and a others clapped and cheered at the clever solution.

With little possessions, they moved out later that day, Larxene assisting them and promising a new house for the two as soon as possible, "You two have fun out in the wilds all alone." She winked.

Zeno is large, and there are a lot of enigmas to still explore, Axel learns. Their house is built twenty feet away from the hot spring where Roxas shows him that when in the dead of winter, one can dive down into the pond and through a an underwater tunnel that leads to a meadow full of flowerlike gems. They also learn more about the environment, the animals, and each other. As time progresses, memory of the forgotten city, earth, and old lives fade in and out in favor of other activities. There comes a time where the repetition of daily deeds becomes too much for the redhead, though, and the taste for something new becomes a craving, "Hey, Roxas, ready for a new adventure?"

They aren't as young as they used to be. Axel is creeping up on thirty-five, and Roxas is rolling about in his twenties, the age the redhead was when they met. But the Ivory Tower has been waiting for them hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and there are secrets to be discovered as they reach the bottom of another Zeno puzzle.

REVIEW PLEASE!
Thanks to Brooke (omgyouarecute) for checking all of this crap and Alyssa and Layla for encouragement and such.