Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Hearts II (Lost Chapters) ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3, back to Axel and Demyx. Chapter 2 was just far too exhausting.

Ah… Watched Final Fantasy Advent Children again tonight. I love that show… Axel is so Reno's Nobody and, boy, Reno's like a freakin' cat or squirrel, he can scale those walls like they're nothing!

Also, don't expect my updates to be so quick all the time. I'm not a saint, I have school and stuff to do, you know?

 

Kingdom Hearts II (Lost Chapters):

 

The World That Never Will Be-

Awakening Plains

 

“I'm hungry.” Demyx groaned childishly. They'd been walking for what seemed like hours and for the past at least thirty minutes Demyx had been moaning and groaning for food like Axel had something to give him. The sun was now about 5/6 of the way across the sky and it was starting to get dark out. Since the darkening of the sky, and Demyx's constant moaning, the temperature had dropped by 20 degrees. It was actually starting to feel chilly out, the occasional breeze giving Demyx goose bumps. The younger member had been forced to put his t-shirt back on. The mountains weren't any closer, and the endless scenery made them feel as if they hadn't moved at all. With such a combination of cooling, whining, and pointless walking, Axel was definitely feeling his stress level beginning to boil over.

“For the last god damn time, I don't care!” Axel yelled punctuating each word. If tomorrow was going to be the same way he didn't think he'd be able to handle it. He could barely stand half a day alone with Demyx. Finding a good tree he stopped beneath and waited for Demyx to come to a halt beneath it as well.

“You've got to have some idea of what to do.” Said Demyx sounding pretty much as desperate as anyone could sound.

“I don't. Now stand there and catch.” Axel growled jumping up and grabbing hold of a branch. Pulling himself up onto it, he stood up. The action led to a soft string of curses, as he hit his head on a branch. Still cursing he began to tear down the branches around his head, tossing them down to Demyx. He laughed a little inside whenever his traveling companion missed catching a branch and was hit with it instead.

“Come on! Axel! I need food.” Demyx called up to him.

“Eat grass, spoiled brat.” Retorted Axel throwing a particularly large branch down in a way that Demyx couldn't have caught it correctly. This time he laughed aloud when the large piece of wood and leave hit the musician in the face.

“You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?!” Snarled Demyx angrily as he hissed in pain rubbing his sore nose.

“Of course not.” Scoffed Axel jumping down out of the tree.

“What the hell are these branches for?” Asked Demyx sorely his hands still over his nose.

“We're staying here for the night.” Declared Axel as he dragged the branches away from the tree base. After clearing away brush and making sure the tree wouldn't catch fire from the burning debris he summoned a flame and lit the branches. They wouldn't burn well because they were lush and green, but there wasn't anything dead to use. As it burned it let off a strange smell and yellowish smoke plumed up from it. With a heavy sigh Axel retrieved a handful of grass before sitting down beside the fire.

“You don't seriously think I'll eat the grass do you?” Questioned Demyx as he plopped down next the fire and Axel.

“Don't know, don't care.” Replied Axel placing a thick blade of grass between his lips. He wasn't going to eat the grass either; he'd gotten it strictly for entertainment purposes. The grass in his mouth was something for his mouth to be occupied with, sort of a silent gesture that he didn't want to talk anymore tonight. Demyx seemed to take the subtle hint.

“I guess I'll just go to sleep then.” Grumbled the boy before flopping over onto his side, using his robe for a pillow. He fell asleep instantly.

Axel was kind of envious of him, it was impossible for him to lie down and just fall asleep. No, Axel had to lay there and wait for sleep to come, which, sometimes, it never did. This gave him a lot of time to think, this had led to his betrayal against the organization and the assassinations of Vexen and Zexion. Aside from the trouble it had caused he'd also had time to think about Roxas and Nobodies in general. He'd come to the conclusion that if they really could not feel and did not have hearts, each of them longed so much to have them that they began to fool themselves. More than once Axel thought he'd felt the pain of rejection, the sorrow of separation and loneliness, the joy of being with someone…

Looking down at his collection of grass, he found he'd woven them together in a design. He let his fingers twirl the braid for a moment, allowing the shadows dance across the faded green. Then he leaned forward and let the flames lick it and parade onto it. As the flames kissed his fingertips he let it fall from his hand.

Slowly, he got to his feet. A sense of insecurity drove him away from the fire, away from the light. Climbing back into the tree, he nestled down on a particularly comfortable branch. This strange world, though appearing similar to others he'd seen, had him frightened. Since being afraid was a feeling, he was sure that his mind was just playing tricks on him.

“Roxas…” He murmured quietly bringing his arms around his chest, hugging in the warmth beneath his clothes. It was only in the mid to high sixties, but to him anything below seventy-five was cold, “I hope you're doing better than I am…”

With that he bowed his head down, hiding his face in the folds of his robes. He was sure he'd get little sleep tonight, but he'd at least let his mind rest and try not to think for as long as he could muster.

A gentle rustle of leaves coaxed Axel from his sleep. Opening his emerald eyes his gaze focused on an orb dangling a few feet in front of his face. A stem attached it to the branch above him. It was a perfect sphere. The color on it was inconsistent; most of it was an odd yellow-orange color, while some large patches were fire red. For a long moment, he just stared at the thing. It had to be some sort of fruit, and in his shock he'd surely just ignored the fact they were there. Still, he had to wonder. Was it poisonous? Did it taste like decaying meat or perhaps sweet honeydew? He wasn't sure if he really wanted to eat it, or touch it for that matter.

Uncoiling himself he got to his feet in a low crouch. Cautiously he leaned forward and pulled the round fruit from the tree. With his gloves on, he could tell how soft or firm the thing was but it was fairly heavy for its size; it was about 5 inches in diameter. Well it looked all right and felt all right (if you could feel the wellness of something). So next he brought it to his nose. Almost instantly he jerked his head away and pulled his hand back. Slapping a hand over his mouth and nose, he forced down the gag. It sure smelt something awful. Perhaps if you left dead rat in a hot, damp sewer and let the fungus and mold start to eat the decaying creature you'd get a smell similar to the one of the fruit.

After a whiff like that, Alex was almost positive that he wouldn't put that thing in his mouth. Still, the growling of his stomach wasn't going to quiet from just thinking about food. They really needed something to eat; water wasn't such a big deal, when they needed that he could just have Demyx call upon it.

With a groan of revulsion he tucked the fruit away under his coat and began searching for more of it. When he'd stuffed every pocket and hole in his clothes with the foul smelling things he shimmied down the tree. The sound woke Demyx from his slumber.

As the 9th Organization member got up and Axel approached, he clasped his hands over his mouth and nose. Recoiling in disgust Demyx let out a sound that sounded like a strangled cry, “For God's sake! What the hell did you roll in?! You smell like the dead walking!”

“Fuck off!” Axel snarled pulling out a fruit and pegging it at the other boy as hard as he possibly could. The musician yelped, bringing his hands to his head where he'd been hit, “It's not like I want to smell like this. It's the god damn tree's fault.”

“Tree's faul- Hey.” Stooping down Demyx scooped up the thing that had hit him upside the head, “What's this?”

“Came from the tree.” Replied Axel with a sneer as he turned to take a look around. It was early morning; the sun was just barely over the horizon. There was dew on the grass, and he swore he could hear birds singing somewhere.

“What is i- Oh, fuck!” Demyx exclaimed throwing the thing away, “It smells like you.”

“I'm telling you it's the damn tree and its fruit! I smell like it!” Axel tried to clarify taking out another fruit and shaking it at Demyx, “Fruit! Not me! Got it memorized? Need me to spell it out for you?”

“Whatever, man, if you say so.” Said Demyx his voice dripping with sarcasm as Axel tucked the fruit away again.

`It's too damn early for this, is he trying to pick a fight. Damn punk.' Thought Axel bitterly before marching off in the direction they'd been heading. He forced the words that were forming on his lips back down his throat. Getting worked up so early wasn't good for you. So instead of wasting his energy arguing and fighting, he did the only logical thing he could do. Stomp away childishly and give his opponent the silent treatment.

“Oh, come on! You're already angry with me? I didn't really mean that, ya know? Geez, can't take a freakin' joke.” Grumbled Demyx running to catch up with the pyro, “You should seriously learn how to relax.”

Axel shot him a deadly look over his shoulder before flopping down on a small grassy mound. Sitting, feet together knees apart, Axel placed his hands in the circle of his legs. He stared at his hands silently, breathe coming in deep huffs that moved his entire body. As his hands balled into fists, tearing at the earth, he looked back over his shoulder, careful not to look at Demyx. He didn't look back for the boy, he looked back to see what they had passed.

The sun was back there. Long shadows from the mountains Xemnas had gone towards stretched across the land, giving it ominous claws and teeth. There was something dangerous back there, and he could feel it as sure as he could feel the clothes on his skin. He should have been happy to just not be there, but he wasn't. Here he was pouting about having to spend time with Demyx, god forbid he actually had to sit next to someone other than Roxas for more three seconds.

`Shit...' He thought quietly turning his head back to look at his hands again, `It's not like I have to do anything with him. I'm overreacting.' He told himself, scolding himself for getting angry over nothing at all. It wasn't like he'd spend eternity with the weakling, just until he found what he was looking for.

At the sound of Demyx moving next to him, Axel glanced up at him. The Melodious Nocturne stepped onto the ground beside him. With a look down, he too sat down brushing up against Axel ever so slightly. Then he hunched over, elbow on his knee and chin in hand. He sat there, sort of with a look of silent understanding, gazing at the palely lit mountains before them.

“You know, when Sora told me that I was a Nobody… I got really angry. Him and his gang, they said I was just a Nobody and I couldn't feel anything `cause I didn't have a heart, and I was just so angry… I couldn't do anything about it, but I so wanted to for once… I wanted to be somebody.” Said the musician quietly. He didn't look over at Axel, only stared at those upraised lands, examining their dimly lit details with his eyes. There was long pause, and both were silent for one reason or another. Then Demyx spoke again, “Axel, do you think Nobodies really can't feel?”

For as much as he thought about Nobodies and false emotions, Axel found he could not give a simple answer to Demyx. He wanted to believe they had feelings, wanted to believe a lot things that the others denied. Still, how could he tell Demyx what he thought? He was loafer, he was young, and further more, he couldn't understand.

Finally, Axel stood and put his hand behind his head. A smile touching his lips he arched his back slightly in a stretch, “Whe~lp, this conversation's getting a little too deep and sappy for me. Let's go.” He said before bringing his arms down swinging them in a wide circle as he did so.

“Huh?” Demyx lifted his head, obviously surprised by Axel's casual attitude towards the event, “Um, oh, all right.” Standing up, he quickly fell in step behind Axel, “So… Have you tried eating it yet?”

“Eating what?” Inquired Axel looking over at Demyx for explanation.

“Those things you got from the tree.”

“Oh, gods no. Have you smelt these things? If the smell doesn't kill you, bet the taste will.” Axel said light-heartedly whipping out one of the orbs.

“So you think it's poisonous?” Asked Demyx looking at the fruit curiously.

“Never know until you find out, right?” Axel smirked, tossing the sphere and catching it once before bringing it to his lips and taking a bite. The fruit was crisp and had the consistency of an apple for the outer layer, which was an inch, and an orange beneath that. Its inside was white and light green, the green being the center orange textured area. What was white tasted almost disgustingly sweet, like a fruit version of caramel. The green was tart, but not strong enough to repel one, it had a tangy taste. Combining the two flavors resulted in a fine combination of sweet and sour. Now if he could just get over the smell, which he swore he could taste in the back of his throat, Axel would have had to say it was one of the most delicious things he'd ever put into his mouth.

“Well?” Prodded Demyx curiously.

“It's absolutely revolting, you should never eat it.” Replied Axel seriously before taking another bite of the fruit, “I shall call it... SunFire Fruit. Got it memorized?”

“You can't just go around naming things.” Demyx objected as he cut in front of Axel grabbing at the bitten piece of fruit, “Don't be stingy! I want some too!”

“No way! You have to wait, what if it's poisonous?” Axel asked with a chuckle playfully slipping around Demyx and continuing on his way.

“But you just ate some!”

“So? It could take hours for the poison to take effect.” Stated Axel smugly. This earned a groan from the 9th Organization member. He seemed to accept the declaration, anyway, for he silently began to walk beside him, “Hey.”

Demyx raised a brow looking over at Axel, “Hey, what?”

“Eat it.” Axel tossed Demyx a fruit.

“Thanks.” Came the grateful reply from the sitar player before he too began to eat his share of their newly found treasure.

 

Save Game: to be continued…