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allwhowander2012-04-12 03:54 am
travelsthefarthest) wrote in allwhowander2012-04-12 03:54 am
Misplaced
He had been dreaming about that time he'd lost a sparring match to Larxene. He still wasn't convinced she hadn't cheated--Larxene was a notorious cheat--but in the end it really didn't matter. It wasn't like they really bothered keeping score. What use did a Nobody have for a scoreboard, right? It had always vexed him to lose to her. Fire and lightning weren't so different! But where he was fast she'd always been faster, and where his flames burned hot her electricity burned hotter, and where he rarely deliberately wished harm (even on her), she... rarely didn't wish harm, and ultimately that was why she had won. She never hesitated to actually hurt someone, even an ally.
Axel could still feel it sometimes, that strange buzzing residual effect of her lightning. He wondered sometimes if he tried hard enough if he could maybe make lightning from his fire one day--give her a taste of her own medicine... That probably wasn't possible, right?
'--Wake up!'
... Right. Wake up, genius. You're definitely not that talented.
"Oi! Axel! Come on, snap out of it!"
Well, that was odd. He'd never had a dream so lucid he was telling himself to wake up. But... no, that wasn't right--that wasn't his voice. Who was--?
"Axel!"
Something shoved hard against his shoulder, and with a grunt Axel hesitantly opened his eyes. A figure in a black coat knelt over him and he instantly snapped fully awake, scrabbling backward, guarded. Had they sent someone after him again?
"Whoa, easy." The voice that floated out from beneath the hood was gentle, and a gloved hand lifted to brush the fabric back. "It's just me."
Axel relaxed visibly as Riku's familiar silver head came into view, and he lifted a hand to plant his palm firmly against his aching head.
"Ugh... the hell happened?" he asked haltingly.
He felt like he'd been hit by the Twilight Town tram. He remembered going to The World that Never Was, hiding in shadows, looking for any trace of Kairi. He remembered being apprehended, running, the sound of Xion's cry as she was struck by--
"Axel where are--?"
"Xion! Roxas?" Axel didn't even hear Riku's question as he turned sharply to look beside him, behind him, and he groaned as a lancing pain shot up his spine and nestled at the base of his neck. Where were they? Where were they? A hand on the crown of his head as if that would quash the pain he lifted his eyes to Riku, squinting. "Where are they?" It was hardly a question.
Riku shook his head. "That's my line," he said. His face was drawn in concern, his lips curved downward in a thin shallow frown. "You guys were late, so I came looking, like I said."
"So dependable," Axel said with a sound that was either a chuckle or a scoff. He wasn't sure.
"But all I found was you here passed out."
Axel broke eye contact, something like panic welling up at the back of his mind. They had run, Xion had fallen, he had doubled back to retrieve her--Light, he hadn't even had a chance to check for a pulse! He had turned and shouted for Roxas to keep going, not to look back, to just run, and then...
Well that explained the dream. But... no, there was no way; Larxene was dead. But the sudden sharp jolt of pain that had struck him in the back, between his shoulders, radiating like a spiral of energy up and down his spine before the darkness closed in from all sides... that hadn't been like any Thundaga spell he'd ever been on the receiving end of. Axel was no stranger to pain. He had withstood the wrath of top-notch mages on more than one occasion in his day, after all--that attack hadn't been like anything he'd ever felt before. Not even Larxene could wield that sort of lightning.
"I lost them." The words fell unbidden from his lips, an almost unconscious lamentation, and he looked up again. Riku's eyes were fierce in the shifting space of the corridor, and Axel shook his head. "I..."
They were gone. Someone had taken them--The Organization had taken them! Were they still alive? He knew Xion had been slated for destruction once, had they finally gone through with it? Oh man, he'd really blown it this time...
"I have to go ba--"
"Axel--!"
He'd made it halfway to his feet before his knees gave out and a wave of dizziness washed over him, that grey fuzz closing in around the edges of his vision. A strong hand closed around his upper arm and arrested his momentum before he could hit the ground, and Riku's voice was stern.
"I don't think you're going anywhere," he said, hefting him roughly upright. "A portal was closing just as I arrived--I think whoever took Roxas and Xion had plans to get you out of the way while they had the chance."
Axel squeezed his eyes closed as the world exploded in a light show of red and black and white and pain, and he ground his teeth together so tightly he could hear them. "Then there's nothing stopping whoever it was from getting rid of them," he snarled, eyes still closed. He didn't have the energy to wrench his arm from Riku's grip, but he opened one eye and managed to muster a glare. "It's my fault they're gone, I have to go get them back."
"Right, and a lot of good you'll do them," Riku said with a roll of his eyes, and in that moment Axel wanted nothing more than to punch the younger man in the face for his infuriating infallible logic. With a sigh, Riku frowned. "Look, if they were taken then they were taken for a reason, right? If the goal was to kill them they wouldn't have taken them away." He carefully released Axel's arm, and Axel stumbled a few steps away so maybe it would look like it had been his idea. Riku folded his arms. "Someone needed them."
Pressing the heel of his hand into his eye socket until his vision bloomed with black and white spots, Axel just made a sibilant noise of disgust. Pathetic. They'd been so careful, all this time, and he'd just let them slip through his fingers.
"I know what you're thinking." Riku didn't sound amused.
"Is that so~?" Taking a deep breath and pulling his hand away from his face as he straightened his back, rising to his full height, Axel gave Riku a look that teetered somewhere between challenge and apology. "Then you should know you can't stop me."
Riku shook his head. "Trust me, I've been in the same place, and Monstro the Whale couldn't have stopped me. We need to get them back... but somehow I get the feeling there's no 'we' in your equation." Then he sighed and dug into the pocket of his coat. He tossed something to Axel, who caught it easily in one hand. "Just promise me you'll at least use that and wait until you can walk without limping before you try and be a big damn hero."
And with that Riku waved a hand and summoned a corridor of darkness, vanishing into its purple-black spirals and leaving Axel standing alone in the space between worlds, an Elixir in his hand and a sort of ache in his throat like he hadn't felt in ten years.
Axel could still feel it sometimes, that strange buzzing residual effect of her lightning. He wondered sometimes if he tried hard enough if he could maybe make lightning from his fire one day--give her a taste of her own medicine... That probably wasn't possible, right?
'--Wake up!'
... Right. Wake up, genius. You're definitely not that talented.
"Oi! Axel! Come on, snap out of it!"
Well, that was odd. He'd never had a dream so lucid he was telling himself to wake up. But... no, that wasn't right--that wasn't his voice. Who was--?
"Axel!"
Something shoved hard against his shoulder, and with a grunt Axel hesitantly opened his eyes. A figure in a black coat knelt over him and he instantly snapped fully awake, scrabbling backward, guarded. Had they sent someone after him again?
"Whoa, easy." The voice that floated out from beneath the hood was gentle, and a gloved hand lifted to brush the fabric back. "It's just me."
Axel relaxed visibly as Riku's familiar silver head came into view, and he lifted a hand to plant his palm firmly against his aching head.
"Ugh... the hell happened?" he asked haltingly.
He felt like he'd been hit by the Twilight Town tram. He remembered going to The World that Never Was, hiding in shadows, looking for any trace of Kairi. He remembered being apprehended, running, the sound of Xion's cry as she was struck by--
"Axel where are--?"
"Xion! Roxas?" Axel didn't even hear Riku's question as he turned sharply to look beside him, behind him, and he groaned as a lancing pain shot up his spine and nestled at the base of his neck. Where were they? Where were they? A hand on the crown of his head as if that would quash the pain he lifted his eyes to Riku, squinting. "Where are they?" It was hardly a question.
Riku shook his head. "That's my line," he said. His face was drawn in concern, his lips curved downward in a thin shallow frown. "You guys were late, so I came looking, like I said."
"So dependable," Axel said with a sound that was either a chuckle or a scoff. He wasn't sure.
"But all I found was you here passed out."
Axel broke eye contact, something like panic welling up at the back of his mind. They had run, Xion had fallen, he had doubled back to retrieve her--Light, he hadn't even had a chance to check for a pulse! He had turned and shouted for Roxas to keep going, not to look back, to just run, and then...
Well that explained the dream. But... no, there was no way; Larxene was dead. But the sudden sharp jolt of pain that had struck him in the back, between his shoulders, radiating like a spiral of energy up and down his spine before the darkness closed in from all sides... that hadn't been like any Thundaga spell he'd ever been on the receiving end of. Axel was no stranger to pain. He had withstood the wrath of top-notch mages on more than one occasion in his day, after all--that attack hadn't been like anything he'd ever felt before. Not even Larxene could wield that sort of lightning.
"I lost them." The words fell unbidden from his lips, an almost unconscious lamentation, and he looked up again. Riku's eyes were fierce in the shifting space of the corridor, and Axel shook his head. "I..."
They were gone. Someone had taken them--The Organization had taken them! Were they still alive? He knew Xion had been slated for destruction once, had they finally gone through with it? Oh man, he'd really blown it this time...
"I have to go ba--"
"Axel--!"
He'd made it halfway to his feet before his knees gave out and a wave of dizziness washed over him, that grey fuzz closing in around the edges of his vision. A strong hand closed around his upper arm and arrested his momentum before he could hit the ground, and Riku's voice was stern.
"I don't think you're going anywhere," he said, hefting him roughly upright. "A portal was closing just as I arrived--I think whoever took Roxas and Xion had plans to get you out of the way while they had the chance."
Axel squeezed his eyes closed as the world exploded in a light show of red and black and white and pain, and he ground his teeth together so tightly he could hear them. "Then there's nothing stopping whoever it was from getting rid of them," he snarled, eyes still closed. He didn't have the energy to wrench his arm from Riku's grip, but he opened one eye and managed to muster a glare. "It's my fault they're gone, I have to go get them back."
"Right, and a lot of good you'll do them," Riku said with a roll of his eyes, and in that moment Axel wanted nothing more than to punch the younger man in the face for his infuriating infallible logic. With a sigh, Riku frowned. "Look, if they were taken then they were taken for a reason, right? If the goal was to kill them they wouldn't have taken them away." He carefully released Axel's arm, and Axel stumbled a few steps away so maybe it would look like it had been his idea. Riku folded his arms. "Someone needed them."
Pressing the heel of his hand into his eye socket until his vision bloomed with black and white spots, Axel just made a sibilant noise of disgust. Pathetic. They'd been so careful, all this time, and he'd just let them slip through his fingers.
"I know what you're thinking." Riku didn't sound amused.
"Is that so~?" Taking a deep breath and pulling his hand away from his face as he straightened his back, rising to his full height, Axel gave Riku a look that teetered somewhere between challenge and apology. "Then you should know you can't stop me."
Riku shook his head. "Trust me, I've been in the same place, and Monstro the Whale couldn't have stopped me. We need to get them back... but somehow I get the feeling there's no 'we' in your equation." Then he sighed and dug into the pocket of his coat. He tossed something to Axel, who caught it easily in one hand. "Just promise me you'll at least use that and wait until you can walk without limping before you try and be a big damn hero."
And with that Riku waved a hand and summoned a corridor of darkness, vanishing into its purple-black spirals and leaving Axel standing alone in the space between worlds, an Elixir in his hand and a sort of ache in his throat like he hadn't felt in ten years.