The scent of rain hung strongly in the air as dark clouds gathered themselves in the night sky, threatening to downpour on the city below. Demyx was silent as he followed Axel down the city streets as they searched for the runaway member of their little Organization. Their Superior had told them that Roxas was trying to flee through The Land That Never Was and had ordered the duo to bring him back to their residence at The Castle That Never Was. They were the only members who were close with Roxas, and even though Demyx had his doubts, their Superior believed they were the only members who would be able to convince him to return to the Organization.

 

"Axel," Demyx finally spoke up, catching the redheads' attention. "We've searched everywhere. He's nowhere to be found."

 

"We can't give up," Axel stated, his green eyes peering over his shoulder at his friend with worry. "We need to find Roxas before it's too late..."

 

"Too late?" Demyx voiced in confusion, apparently missing a piece of information related their mission. "Too late for what?"

 

Axel ignored the question and headed down a dark alley where voices could be heard. About halfway down the street, a figure flew into view as it was slammed into a nearby building by some unknown force. Seemingly unaffected, the figure was on their feet in mere seconds and running back behind the building and out of their view.

 

"Why did the Keyblade choose you?" they heard someone shout. Axels' already quickened pace immediately turned into a sprint as he heard a cry of pain from a familiar voice. Axel and Demyx found themselves in the city square as they rounded the corner where the commotion had just come from. Only a few feet away from them lay an unmoving Roxas on the cold, hard pavement. Both immediately rushed over to him, worry written on both their features.

 

"Is he going to be okay?" Demyx asked concernedly as Axel knelt at their fallen friends' side. Without answering, Axel gently picked Roxas up in his arms and began carrying him back in the direction of the castle. Demyx took the hint to stay silent and solemnly followed the redhead home. Axel didn't even get the chance to open a portal before the Nobody in his arms began to stir. Axel gently placed Roxas on his feet and kept him steady as he came to.

 

"What-what happened?" Roxas asked, violently rubbing the back of his head where he felt a bump forming.

 

"You somehow got your kicked, you big dummy. Roxas, what in the worlds were you thinking?" Axel asked testily. Roxas stared bleary eyed at his friends, his vision not yet completely focused due to a vicious headache forming at the back of his skull. "Look," Axel eventually sighed, "You need to give me the Keyblade." Roxas snapped to attention as Axel reached for the magical weapon still in his hand.

 

"No!" Roxas immediately backed out of his reach and pointed the Keyblade at Axel. "It chose me, and I have to figure out why!"

 

"Don't you see, Roxas? It's taking you away from us; away from me," Axel said quietly, sorrow laced in his voice.

 

"I thought at least you would understand. You're supposed to be my best friend," he whispered, hurt clearly written in his expression.

 

"I am!" Axel cried out, horrified that Roxas would think such nonsense.

 

"We're only trying to help you, Roxas," Demyx stated, deciding to try and help remedy their precarious situation.

 

"I don't need your help. I don't want your help," Roxas said angrily, turning his back on his friends and walking in the opposite direction of the castle. Demyx chased after him, reaching out and gently grabbing onto the boys hand.

 

"Please Roxas, don't leave," Demyx pleaded. Roxas stood in complete silence for a moment, seemingly contemplating his friends' words.

 

"What's the point?" Roxas eventually sighed, easily removing his hand from his friends' grasp. "No one would miss me..."

 

"That's not true," Axel whispered in despair. "I would..." As Axel stood there in a mixture of pain and confusion, Demyx tried once more to stop Roxas from leaving.

 

"Roxas, stop this nonsense right now and come to your senses," Demyx growled, latching on to the teens arm more firmly than he had before. He would not let him abandon them like that, not when it was tearing Axel apart. "Like it or not, you're not leaving." Everything went dead silent for a moment when suddenly Demyx was knocked back into a nearby building by the force of Roxas' Keyblade.

 

"Do not try to stop me again," Roxas growled threateningly at a shocked Demyx before turning to leave again. Demyx quickly came out of his stupor and was suddenly on his feet, a cluster of bubbles forming in his hand and revealing his choice of weapon; his Sitar, Arpeggio. He wasted no time and sprang into action, swinging the instrument so quickly at Roxas that the younger boy had no time to register the counterattack and went sprawling to the ground.

 

"If you want to leave, you'll have to go through me," Demyx announced, prepared for a fight. Roxas shot to his feet in rage and charged at the Nobody in front of him at full speed.

 

"I'll teach you to interfere," Roxas shouted, lunging at Demyx. Anger had consumed his friend and Axel could only watch as he continued to violently swing at Demyx. Roxas soon proved to be the better fighter of the two and knocked Demyx to the ground, Arpeggio falling out of reach. Roxas was on top of Demyx in seconds, giving the other Nobody no chance to retrieve his weapon.

 

"Now we'll finish this," he said, raising the Keyblade high over his friends' form. Before the blade could touch Demyx, the weapon was knocked out of his hand and landed a few feet away from him. Roxas looked up and saw Axel standing before him. Fire began to form around Axels' hands before he was thrown aside by a blow from behind.

 

"Axel!" Demyx cried out as he watched his friend get thrown several feet and hit the ground hard. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran over to the redhead. Axel groaned as Demyx helped him sit up, both he and Demyx looking around for the source of the attack. Standing in front of Roxas stood another figure dressed head to toe in black, quite like themselves. What shocked them the most was that this stranger also held a Keyblade within his grasp.

 

"You!" Roxas let out a feral snarl, ready to attack the newcomer. Demyx and Axel both noticed that Roxas saw the boy in black as a threat and were readying themselves for another fight before the duo were sent flying backwards by a force of light. Demyx felt his head collide with brick and heard Axels cry of pain mingle with his own before blacking out.

                                                                                                               ******************                                                                         

Demyx found himself frantically searching the castle for Axel, who had seemed to vanish into thin air, and thus far had no luck in his quest. The Superior had explained to him earlier that while he had been rendered unconscious from the attacked, Roxas had been kidnapped by the boy in black and Axel had brought the both of them back to the castle to report the incident. According to Xemnas, their Superior, Axel had furiously stormed out of the throne room when he was told there was to be no action taken at this time in locating the boy and bringing him back.

 

"Hey kid, how ya' feelin'?" Demyx heard a voice question behind him, bringing him out of his thoughts. Upon turning around, he saw one of the higher ranking members of the Organization scaling down one of the many stairwells behind him.

 

"Xigbar!" Demyx called out in relief while the other Nobody gave him a questioning look. "Please tell me that you've spoken with Axel recently."

 

"As if!" Xigbar stated, throwing his hands up in defense. "When I last saw him he had fire in his eyes and there was no way I was getting burned today."

 

"Oh," Demyx sighed, slightly disheartened. Xigbar noticed his colleagues' expression immediately change to one of disappointment.

 

"Hey, I think I heard Luxord say a little while ago that he saw Axel heading down to the basement," Xigbar stated, scratching his hooded head in thought.

 

"Really?" Demyx asked hopefully, smiling at the Nobody and receiving a nod. "Thank you so much, Xigbar!" The Nobody dismissed his thanks with a wave of a hand, but Demyx missed it for he was already racing down the steps towards the lower levels. Several minutes later, Demyx found himself peering around in the dark in the seemingly vacant basement. That is, until he felt something whizz by his head and crash somewhere behind him.

 

"Axel?" he questioned, his suspicions confirmed as he saw a few flames light up the large room for a moment before dispersing back into darkness. "Axel?" Demyx called out louder, making his way further into the basement where he found his friend seething in anger. Demyx flinched slightly when Axel let out an animalistic roar as he punched the nearest wall, some of the brick cracking and falling to the ground from the impact. "Axel, stop!" Demyx shouted and grabbed onto the fist that was about to cause another dent in the wall. This seemed to bring Axel back to reality as he finally noticed the boy standing beside him.

 

"So, you're finally awake," Axel grumbled, removing his hand from the Nobodys' grasp and turning his back to him.

 

"Why are you acting like this?" Demyx asked, confused by his friends' actions.

 

"The Superior ordered us not to look for him, he said that there were more important things that we had to focus on," Axel let out a quiet, unamused laugh at that statement. "Apparently the Roxas we knew doesn't exist."

 

"How could you say such a thing? Of course he does!" Demyx said, appalled.

 

"Roxas doesn't exist. You don't exist. I don't exist. None of the Organization does," Axel explained, his hands clenching into fists by his side. "We were never alive to begin with. We are heartless and to be alive, one must have a heart. We don't feel anything; we're Nobodies and fools to think anything otherwise."

 

"What you're saying isn't true," Demyx argued, taking a step towards Axel. "We do too feel, otherwise how can you explain about our friendship with Roxas? With each other? You have to care to have friends."

 

"I don't care about anyone," Axel shouted angrily, his fist landing in the boys gut as he turned to face him. "No one can ever care about Nobodies like us; like you! You. Don't. Exist. Got it memorized?" Demyx stumbled back a bit, holding his stomach where Axel had just hit him and stared up at the Nobody in front of him with wide eyes. The two stared at each other for a moment longer before Demyx straightened himself and turned his back to Axel.

 

"You don't care, and I don't exist. Got it," Demyx whispered quietly before making his way back up into the castle. Axel watched as his last remaining friend in the Organization walked away from him, leaving him once again alone in the darkness. Instead of the unyielding rage he had been feeling just moments ago, he now felt only pain and regret from his actions as he hung his head in shame.