"But it's ridiculous! You can't just HAVE another life! I don't believe in stuff like that!" Roxas snarled, fists clenched. Roxas watched Axel as he stood over at the window and the returned to him. Roxas's eyes were focused on Axel's, eyebrows narrowed. When Axel had grabbed his shoulder very roughly Roxas growled, "Don't TOUCH me!"

JUST REMEMBER, DAMNIT!

His blue eyes widened. Alarmed quickly with the shout then- BAM!
The stinging of Axel's slap made Roxas look away, feeling the red hot pain on the side of his face. Roxas's eyes were wide open and didn't shut. Then he was embraced...


Roxas's mind lit up and he seemed to be almost flying through a cosmic world, colors exploding around his eyes as his mouth dropped open.... Roxas found himself in a cold, dark, damp enviroment...and then he saw figures...


Roxas walked forward slowly, his long black cloak swaying behind him as he walked by a familiar figure. It was Axel.
"Your mind's made up?" Came Axel's calm voice, his arms were crossed. Roxas halted, dead in his tracks, feeling the wet rain hit his face.
"Why...? Why did the keyblade choose me?" Roxas asked, his blue irises staring back at his red-headed friend.
"You can't turn on the organization!" Axel snapped. Roxas turned his head away, "If you get on their bad side, they'll destroy you!"
Roxas gently sighed and barely turned his head and spoke softly, "No one would miss me..."
"That's not true!" Axel yelled before loosing up, "I would..."


"And now the match you've been waiting for! Roxas versus Vivi!" Called the announcer over a speaker. Roxas stood in the middle of the stage, holding out his blue weapon. And across from him was the small creature named Vivi. Roxas went to run but a odd feeling swirled around him. Roxas's stomach twisted and lurched and he stopped.
The entire applause around him had vanished. All the cheers, the cries of his name... had gone. Roxas looked around himself. Everybody was frozen in they're place, like time had virtually stopped. Roxas looked at Vivi. Vivi was still able to move, just like Roxas. But a white mist surrounded Vivi and Roxas watched intently. Once the mist had disappeared one of those creatures in white had appeared, the same creatures that Roxas had fought earlier in the forest.
"Again!" Roxas called angrily as more and more of the white strangers appeared. A light illuminated around Roxas's hands and that blade...that...key...keyblade from earlier appeared in his palm. "Again..."
Roxas narrowed his eyebrows, running forward and he battled, swinging his blade around, destroying the creatures each blow. When all the enemies had gone, Roxas breathed... he breathed and breath untill there was no more breaths to be taken in. Everybody was still the same, everybodie's figures were still motionless. The town was completely silent and Roxas only heard one sound...and it was clapping hands.
Roxas spun around, seeing a figure before him in a long black leather cloak.
"Roxas... Allright... fight fight fight..." Came the new stranger. Roxas paused, staring curiously at the approaching person. "You really don't remember? It's me. You know, Axel."
The figure had calmly pulled down their hood, revealing long flaming red hair, and piercing emerald eyes.
"Axel?" Roxas said puzzled.
"Talk about blank with a capital "B". Man oh man... Not even the Dusks are gonna crack this one." Axel murmured, scratching his spikes. Red color had emerged from Axel's hands, but it wasn't a light but fire. Strange circular objects had landed square in Axel's palms, long spikes sticking out everywhere; it looked dangerous.
"Wait a sec! Tell me what's going on!" Roxas yelled nervously. Axel cooly glanced around his surroundings.
"This town's his creation right? Which means we don't have time for a Q & A. You're coming with me, conscious or not," said Axel, his smirk growing longer. Roxas stared at his man, his presence was freaking Roxas out. But that same weird presence from a few moments ago had returned. It spiraled around both of them.
"Uh-oh..." Came Axel softly, peering around. The keyblade was still in Roxas's grasp. It lifted it up to eye level, staring at the long key on the end of the blade. He narrowed his thin eyebrows and angrily yelled, "What is going ON!?" He threw the keyblade down on the ground as hard as he could, hearing a clank that echoed through the obnoxsioulsy quiet town loudly. A gentle rush of wind zoomed across Roxas's face and the keyblade had returned into Roxas's hand.
"Number 13. Roxas. The keyblade's chosen one!" Exclaimed Axel, begunining to get dangerous with his weapons. Roxas stared at him and held his keyblade tightly.
"Okay, you asked for it!"
Running forward, the blonde attacked the red-head who shot balls of flame at Roxas, his two circular weapons catching fire and sent them cascading towards Roxas. It wasn't untill that same presence appeared again, and an odd green light appeared and inside it was a man in red and black robes.
"So it was you..." said Axel, leaping backwards and sending his flaming weapons at the new strangers. But when the weapons had been thrown, they seemed to hit an invisable barrier, leaving the stranger completely unharmed.
"Roxas! This man speaks nonsense!" The man called to Roxas.
"Roxas! Don't let him deceive you!" Axel called to Roxas.
"Roxas!" growled the stranger.
"Roxas!" Axel yelled.
"Roxas!"
"Roxas!"
"Roxas!"
"Roxas!"
Roxas covered his ears blocking out his calling name before screaming into the sky as loud as he could, "Hayner! Pence! Olette!"


After leaving Roxas's usual spot down by the alleyway, Roxas stood alone. The town was quiet and Roxas was scared... He was actually scared. His friends had actually not seen him when he went to greet them, and ignored him as if he wasn't there. A smokey portal had appeared behind the blonde and Roxas turned to see the same red-head from earlier at the Struggle battles. It was Axel.
"Look at what it's come to," started Axel, "I've been given these icky orders to destroy you---if you refuse to come back with me."
Roxas bit his tongue.
"We're...best friends...right?" croaked the blonde. Axel clumsily scratched the back of his head.
"Sure, but I'm getting turned into a Dusk for- Wait a sec, you remember now?!" Axel cried out happily.
"Y-yeah..." Roxas said with a quiet hesitation.
"Great!" Axel smiled, "But we gotta make sure and all so...um...um... what's our boss's name?"
There was an awkward silence as Roxas stared down at the brown colored pavement at his feet. Axel sighed sadly, "Can't believe this..."
A few moments of silence, Roxas had summoned his keyblade and was just about to fight Axel and how Axel was just about to fight him when... when Axel stopped. Roxas paused, staring at Axel's frozen body before him. He was frozen in time, just like earlier at the Struggle Battles... everybody stopped moving.
"Roxas! To the mansion!" boomed a loud voice in Roxas's head. Roxas took one more long glance at Axel before slowly turning and walking away.
Axel woke moments after Roxas had left.
"The Roxas I know is long gone... Fine...I see how it is..."


Gasping painfully, Roxas grabbed his head, moaning hard. His mind was hurting... his mind was ACTUALLY HURTING! But once the pain had stopped, Roxas stared at the computer monitors before him. Getting mad, Roxas summoned his keyblade, angrily glared at the machines then began to smash the keyblade onto the computers, destroying them completely. Then a door slid open to his right.
Roxas walked towards it, entering a larger room, almost just like the other. He saw another door and began approaching it when more of the creatures in white appeared. Roxas groaned, fought them off and heard a familiar voice.
"Simply amazing Roxas..." said Axel, his arms crossed as he iritably walked by.
"Axel?" Roxas asked gently. Axel halted.
"You really do remember me this time?" said Axel, turning to glance at the blonde before a face of pure rage appeared on the fire-weilder's face, "I AM SO FLATTERED!"
He cluctched his hands into fists and large walls of flames appeared all around them. Roxas gasped, very startled. "BUT YOUR TOO LATE!"
Axel's two large weapons appeared in his hands as he stared up at Roxas smirking terribly. Roxas felt something: two keyblades were in his hands. One was bright white and the other was dark black.
"Two?!" Screeched Axel angrily. Roxas twirled the long keyblades in his hands and the battle began. The floor underneath them had erupted into hot burning coals. Roxas tried ignoring the hot feeling under his feet as he started towards Axel. Roxas attacked the red-head as Axel dodged several of his moves. And occasionally Axel would morph into the walls of flame and reappear in random places and attack Roxas furiously. But Roxas was too quick. He clanked keyblades with Axel's chakrams... Roxas sent a blow and the heat vanished. Axel fell to his knees.
Roxas stared across from him, staring at Axel leaning over and breathing heavily. Roxas saw something infront of his eyes...
You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!
No one would miss me...
That's not true! I would...
"Axel..." Roxas muttered softly. Axel looked up slowly.
"Let's meet again in the next life..." Axel grinned. Roxas nodded, "Yeah. I'll be waiting."
Axel chuckled. The steamy black smoke began to swallow Axel's body.
"Silly. Just because you have a next life..."



Roxas was pondering... He remebered, these memories of Axel and him... He actually remembered them.


Axel...?



Why are you crying?


It's me... Roxas


Your best friend




Roxas looked at Axel crying over him badly. The pain on his cheek vanished and he looked at Axel's crying face.
"Axel?" he murmured gently before wrapping his arms around his body, his mouth near his ear, "Stop crying...


I remember everything..."



----



Axel couldn't hear...couldn't see...couldn't speak. His whole world was black and quiet...the sort of silence that presses in around you and seems to swallow you whole, leaving no room for escape.
He felt the warm body pressing against him but couldn't see who it was. It felt like an eternity that he stood there, wondering what he was going to do next, how he was going to get out of this and go back to a normal life. It seemed impossible...

He sobbed. Sobbed like he could never remember sobbing, not even when his mother died. It was the kind of sobbing that makes you feel as if your very life is being sucked out of you, leaving you an empty shell with no feelings and no hope.
He wanted Roxas...that's all he wanted...

Please, Roxas...please come back to me...

He was faintly aware that a clock somewhere had just struck midnight, the deep, resonation filling every room in the house. His father insisted on keeping that awefull thing, despite how ancient it was. Axel assumed it was because the antique reminded him of his mother, but he wasn't sure.
As the minutes ticked by, it seemed to Axel that time was slowing down, he even thought he could hear the twelve bongs as they went off become farther and farther apart. Slowly, his vision began to clear and the bonging of the clock also became clearer...so clear that he wished he couldn't hear it anymore.
Then, wieght...warmth...softness...
"Roxas..." He whispered, not even aware of what he had said or why he said it, it had just come to him and his lips had formed the word...it seemed familiar.
He then knew why he had said it...he was holding Roxas...in his arms...Roxas was in his arms...

Slowly, oh so slowly, he lifted his head to look into the eyes of the younger teen. Those eyes, those same eyes...
"R...Roxas...?" He breathed, voice barely above a whisper. He sniffled a little and blinked some fresh tears away, staring in disbelief...did...did Roxas actually remember? Just like that? But, how could that be possible?
Axel shook his head slightly, eyes closing and lips pressing together tightly.
No, he didn't remember...how could he just remember so suddenly like that?
But Axel was so desperate for him to remember...maybe it was true, maybe all Roxas needed was to see Axel in his most vulnerable state...a side of the red-head he had only ever shown one other person...
"You...you really remember...?" He asked, loosening his hold on the blonde very slightly so he could see his face better, cheeks shineing with tears and eyes glistening like pools after a spring rain fall, "But...but how?"

Then it hit him...Roxas remembers! He actually remembers!

"Roxas!" He gasped, face suddenly breaking out in a wide but still hesitant grin and he threw his arms back around him, clinging posessively to the smaller male, "Oh God...Roxas..."
He began crying again, but these new tears were nothing like the ones he had shed before. Never in his life had he cried because he was happy, but now he had a damn good reason for it.
Eventhough Roxas had told him to stop crying he just couldn't help it, he was so happy. Burrying his face in the blonde's shoulder, he laughed and cried and clung to him as if it was his last day on earth. With his face this close to Roxas' neck he took this oppurtunity to nuzzle him, pushing his nose against the soft skin to breath him in deeply and then extend his face that much closer to kiss the side of his neck, once then twice then a dozen more times, working his way up his neck then along his jaw line. He had soon covered the boy's entire face in frantic and joyous kisses. He had even gone over Roxas' eyelides a few times.
"I can't believe you remember!" He breathed, still kissing as he spoke, "I never thought-" He dropped a few kisses on the end of his nose, "You were going to-" Another few on his forehead, "Ever remember..."
Sighing deeply with the utmost content, Axel ceased his kissing and pushed his face back into the crook of Roxas' shoulder, his arms now holding him underneath his arms; around his ribcage, "I missed you so much..." He whispered, voice low and breathy as he suddenly, but slowly began lowering himself down Roxas' body, ending up on his knees infront of the blonde. Once there, he burried his face in the boy's stomach, arms wrapped around his waist and clenched loosely in the material of his shirt. He then began kissing all over again and even nuzzled up under Roxas' shirt just a little to plant a few on his perfectly smooth belly.

It was amazing. His mood had gone from utter despair to the highest level of ecstasy he could ever hope to experience.
He had Roxas back!
Looking up from his position on his knees, he smiled deviously and rose up, arms clamped around Roxas' ribs and he effortlessly lifted the boy off his feet and twirled him around a few times before he suddenly lost his footing on the thick carpet and yelped as both he and Roxas came down right on his matress.
He couldn't help but laugh, arms still wrapped firmly around the boy and face hidden in his chest.
"Well, that was fun..." He giggled, perfectly content to lay right there and hold Roxas with thier legs intertwined and his face resting comfortably on the blonde's shoulder...


---



Roxas gasped lightly when Axel had flung his arms around him, but quickly lost any fear, sadness or anger and came upon happiness. He smiled cutely but then smiled a very very sweet smile when he started crying again.
"Axel..." he muttered gently but then nuzzling him, Roxas turned red. "Axe-" He giggled between words when the red-head was kissing him, "Axel--haha!" He couldn't help but laugh hysterically, "Why- are...haha...you?" He giggled quietly again untill he abruptly broke into laughter with Axel.
"Well I did-" He blinked when Axel kissed his nose but quickly regained his sentance, "remember!" He grinned proudly, his face still being engulfed by kisses.


When Axel reached his knees, Roxas's eyebrows raised slowly and he heard Axel's tiny whispers. Roxas blushed hard again but quickly grinned at the sweet assault he had placed on his belly. Roxas giggled softly again and the soft feeling on his stomach. He continued chuckling untill he felt his feet rise up off the floor and he opened his blue eyes to find himself being twirling in the air. Axel was twirling him around.
Roxas was laughing, but he yelped quietly when Axel had hit the bed with a hard jump. He landed back down with the red-head, quickly grabbing his breath and began laughing again.

After a short moment, he clung to Axel's waist and grinned, the side of his face was pushed against Axel's torso.
"I just remembered..." Mumured Roxas quietly, "It suddenly just struck me when...when...when you hit me... It was strange." Roxas looked at the large clock on the wall as it almost read a few minutes ago midnight.
"Midnight..." Roxas blinked. He shrugged the thought off his head and hugged Axel again.

"I'm guessing you missed me?" Roxas giggled sweetly almost gesturing to everything that had just happened.

After a very long moment of just hugging, Roxas blinked and looked at Axel's emerald eyes.

"What now?"



---


Axel giggled as he saw Roxas' reactions to all the kisses he was giving him. He really couldn't help it. It was just the first thing he thought to do...besides, he had been wanting to do it since he brought Roxas here.
"I just can't believe it..." He said again, "I was beginning to lose all hope of you ever remembering..."

After they had been laying on the bed together, Axel still nuzzling into Roxas' neck and shoulder, he sighed and smiled before raising up enough to look into Roxas' eyes.
He then remembered striking the blonde.
"Oh, God...Roxas, I'm so sorry for hitting you..." He said, a pained look in his eyes. He bit his lower lip before bringing one hand up and caressing the place where his palm had made contact with Roxas' cheek. He ran the backs of his fingers across the redened area, realizing now that his palm still stung...
...Midnight...? Axel glanced at the small clock above his mantel. Maybe that was why...Axel made a mental note to think about that later, because right now all he cared about was Roxas.
"Of course I missed you!" He said, sounding shocked and delighted at the same time, "I thought I was going to go crazy if you didn't remember soon!" He smiled down at the younger teen, his one hand still touching and caressing his face, occasionally going up into his hair, "I missed you so much..." His voice had suddenly become more serious, but his lips still remained curved in a soft smile.

"Heh, what now?" He said, one side of his mouth quirking into a devilish smirk and his eyebrows raising mischieviously, "This..." And with that Axel, after searching for Roxas' hands and lacing thier fingers together, leaned down and pressed his lips against Roxas'.
After waiting for this moment for so long, it was so worth it. The contact sent electric shockwaves up and down Axel's spine, going off in his brain like fireworks.
Releasing a breath through his nose, the cool air ghosting across Roxas' face, he pulled back, allowing thier lips to linger for the briefest moment. Even after the contact was broken he could taste Roxas on his lips as he ran the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip.

Staring into Roxas' eyes, he allowed another trembling breath to escape his lips, noticing vaguely that they were tingling a little...