[KH2] - A Long Overdue Conversation (Axel/Sora)
“Hey there, kiddo.”
Sora whirled, startled by the sudden voice and the strange, unfamiliar familiarity to it. He clenched his fingers around air, expecting to feel the familiar weight of a keyblade drop into his hand, but none came.
“What the?” Sora stared down at his hand, now even more confused.
“Lookin’ for a keyblade?” The voice again. “I’m afraid it doesn’t work here, my friend. But you’ll find that I’m not much of a threat these days anyhow.”
And there was Axel, standing in front of him. Sora had only really seen Axel once and then only briefly, but he didn’t look how Sora remembered. The telltale black coat was gone, replaced by simple jeans and a white shirt. He wasn’t wearing any shoes. Axe l looked different in white. Softer. More human.
“Axel?” Sora just stared at him. “Where are we? What are you doing here? You’re… uh…”
“I’m dead. You can say it - it’s okay.” Axel grinned a lopsided grin, almost bittersweet. “As for where we are and what I’m doing here, that’s a little bit more complicated. We might wanna go somewhere a little more comfortable.”
For the first time, Sora actually took a look around. They were… well, he didn’t really know. It was just grey mist swirling all around them. It reminded him more of the place where he had watched Axel die than anything else.
He was so busy looking around that he didn’t notice right away that Axel had begun to walk away through the mist. He ran to follow him.
“Hey, where are we going? Man this mist is thick…”
“Someplace I think you’ll like.”
They stepped out of the mist into a place Sora hadn’t ever been before. They were at the top of a tower, looking out over a city bathed in dusky golden light. Sora stood on the ledge, horribly confused until recognition washed over him.
“This is Twilight Town!”
“Bingo. Let’s give the kid a prize.” Axel sat on the edge, letting his feet dangle above the ground so far below.
Sora looked over his shoulder and saw with a shock that the mist had vanished and he was looking at a huge pair of bells.
“We’re on the clock tower? And where did the mist go?” He looked over at Axel, his brow furrowed. “Where are we?”
“Well, the simple answer is that we’re in your head. In your memories.”
“In my head?” Sora stared at Axel, mouth agape. Maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised. After all he had been through in the past few years, being inside his own head really wasn’t that strange. Even still, it was hard to believe all at once… but the ledge felt solid and Sora could feel the gentle heat from the perpetually-setting Twilight Town sun and the warm breeze that blew constantly through the world. This was Twilight Town. There was no mistaking that.
“I don’t understand,” he finally murmured. “I came to Twilight Town, but I never sat up here on the clock tower. How would I remember somewhere I’ve never seen?”
“You didn’t see it, but Roxas did.” Axel said gently.
“Oh.” Sora was silent for a long few moments. He… missed Roxas. And he knew that Roxas and Axel had been close.
“Your next question is what am I doing here.” Axel prompted him after a few moments.
Sora picked his head up and blinked at Axel.
“That’s right. What are you doing here?”
“The simple answer is that I’m one of your memories, kid.” Axel leaned back and looked out over the horizon. “The complicated answer… Well… you watched me die. You stayed with me. So I stayed with you, I guess. And there was enough of me left in that keyblade to keep me “alive” in here, so to speak. That’s why I remember, unlike the rest of them down there.” Axel nodded down to the city below. “I’m the only ghost in Memory Town.”
Sora nodded slowly, trying to understand. He had given Kairi his heart once, right? So why couldn’t he carry an entire memory within him as well? He turned to Axel.
“What’s it like? To fade away like that.” The question had haunted him ever since he had seen the first Nobody disentigrate before his eyes. They had all faded… but Axel was the only one he had really cared about.
“Well… It’s not much fun.” Axel smiled a little at the concern on the kid’s face. “But I don’t regret it, if that’s what you’re thinking. I lived a long time. I was dead before you even met met me.” He paused. “But we’re not here to talk about that.”
“How did I even get here?” Sora looked around again. “I mean, it’s my head and everything, but I have no idea how to go inside my own head.”
“My guess is that you’re dreaming, but this isn’t really a dream. It’s real.” Axel paused and laughed. “Or something like that. I just live here - I don’t really have all the answers, I’m sorry to say.”
Sora laughed too. Axel was easy to laugh with.
“Oh yeah. Here.” Axel handed a seasalt ice cream to Sora. “Have you ever had one of these?”
“Hey! Seasalt ice cream! I haven’t had this in ages!” Sora took the treat and began to eat it enthusiastically. “I’ve really missed this on the islands. I’ve tried to explain it to Kairi, but she doesn’t believe that it’s good.”
Axel laughed a little bit. “I hope Kairi doesn’t hate me for what I did to her… I only realized my mistake too late.”
“I don’t think she hates you. Kairi can hold grudges sometimes…” Sora winced, remembering the tongue-lashing that he and Riku had gotten after the initial bliss of reunion had worn off. “But… I think she understands. In a way.”
“Well, I certainly hope so. It doesn’t make up for what I did, but…” Axel paused, his eyes settling to the horizon. “All I wanted was Roxas. And I wanted him so badly that I became blind to everything else, even people I never wanted to hurt in the first place. I loved him, you know.”
“He knows.” Sora hugged his knees to his chest. He could… feel it somehow.
“That means I love you too.” Axel turned to Sora, eyes serious.
Sora frowned. “You do?”
“You’re the same person, right? You both make me feel the same way.” Axel tilted his head back. “All I wanted was to make him happy, you know? I wanted him to… to smile and get to have a good life. He wasn’t meant for the Organization. Neither were you.” He turned back to Sora. “I wanna make you happy too. I wanna keep you safe. That’s why I’m here.”
“You’re keeping me safe inside my head?” Sora looked around. “What’s going to hurt me in here?”
“Kid…” Axel shook his head. “You don’t realize it now - you will when you’re older. The body’s nothing without the mind. And you’re a keyblader - your mind is different. You’ve seen things and done things and felt things that most people can’t even begin to imagine. And that was even before Namine took apart your head and put it back together again. There’s darkness in here, Sora. I’ve seen it. You can fight it yourself, but… Let me do it for you. As thanks for keeping me in your memories. Who knows - maybe I’ll even find Roxas in here.”
Sora’s head has been bowed, but now he raised it and looked over at Axel.
“Have you found him yet?”
Axel shook his head. “No… Not yet. But he’s in here somewhere. I’ll find him.” He smiled a little, bittersweet. “I will.”
“He’ll be glad to see you. He has a lot to say.” Sora moved closer to Axel and leaned his head on Axel’s shoulder. The gesture spoke of more than just mere romance - it was a gesture of the purest understanding and affection.
~
Sora whirled, startled by the sudden voice and the strange, unfamiliar familiarity to it. He clenched his fingers around air, expecting to feel the familiar weight of a keyblade drop into his hand, but none came.
“What the?” Sora stared down at his hand, now even more confused.
“Lookin’ for a keyblade?” The voice again. “I’m afraid it doesn’t work here, my friend. But you’ll find that I’m not much of a threat these days anyhow.”
And there was Axel, standing in front of him. Sora had only really seen Axel once and then only briefly, but he didn’t look how Sora remembered. The telltale black coat was gone, replaced by simple jeans and a white shirt. He wasn’t wearing any shoes. Axe l looked different in white. Softer. More human.
“Axel?” Sora just stared at him. “Where are we? What are you doing here? You’re… uh…”
“I’m dead. You can say it - it’s okay.” Axel grinned a lopsided grin, almost bittersweet. “As for where we are and what I’m doing here, that’s a little bit more complicated. We might wanna go somewhere a little more comfortable.”
For the first time, Sora actually took a look around. They were… well, he didn’t really know. It was just grey mist swirling all around them. It reminded him more of the place where he had watched Axel die than anything else.
He was so busy looking around that he didn’t notice right away that Axel had begun to walk away through the mist. He ran to follow him.
“Hey, where are we going? Man this mist is thick…”
“Someplace I think you’ll like.”
They stepped out of the mist into a place Sora hadn’t ever been before. They were at the top of a tower, looking out over a city bathed in dusky golden light. Sora stood on the ledge, horribly confused until recognition washed over him.
“This is Twilight Town!”
“Bingo. Let’s give the kid a prize.” Axel sat on the edge, letting his feet dangle above the ground so far below.
Sora looked over his shoulder and saw with a shock that the mist had vanished and he was looking at a huge pair of bells.
“We’re on the clock tower? And where did the mist go?” He looked over at Axel, his brow furrowed. “Where are we?”
“Well, the simple answer is that we’re in your head. In your memories.”
“In my head?” Sora stared at Axel, mouth agape. Maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised. After all he had been through in the past few years, being inside his own head really wasn’t that strange. Even still, it was hard to believe all at once… but the ledge felt solid and Sora could feel the gentle heat from the perpetually-setting Twilight Town sun and the warm breeze that blew constantly through the world. This was Twilight Town. There was no mistaking that.
“I don’t understand,” he finally murmured. “I came to Twilight Town, but I never sat up here on the clock tower. How would I remember somewhere I’ve never seen?”
“You didn’t see it, but Roxas did.” Axel said gently.
“Oh.” Sora was silent for a long few moments. He… missed Roxas. And he knew that Roxas and Axel had been close.
“Your next question is what am I doing here.” Axel prompted him after a few moments.
Sora picked his head up and blinked at Axel.
“That’s right. What are you doing here?”
“The simple answer is that I’m one of your memories, kid.” Axel leaned back and looked out over the horizon. “The complicated answer… Well… you watched me die. You stayed with me. So I stayed with you, I guess. And there was enough of me left in that keyblade to keep me “alive” in here, so to speak. That’s why I remember, unlike the rest of them down there.” Axel nodded down to the city below. “I’m the only ghost in Memory Town.”
Sora nodded slowly, trying to understand. He had given Kairi his heart once, right? So why couldn’t he carry an entire memory within him as well? He turned to Axel.
“What’s it like? To fade away like that.” The question had haunted him ever since he had seen the first Nobody disentigrate before his eyes. They had all faded… but Axel was the only one he had really cared about.
“Well… It’s not much fun.” Axel smiled a little at the concern on the kid’s face. “But I don’t regret it, if that’s what you’re thinking. I lived a long time. I was dead before you even met met me.” He paused. “But we’re not here to talk about that.”
“How did I even get here?” Sora looked around again. “I mean, it’s my head and everything, but I have no idea how to go inside my own head.”
“My guess is that you’re dreaming, but this isn’t really a dream. It’s real.” Axel paused and laughed. “Or something like that. I just live here - I don’t really have all the answers, I’m sorry to say.”
Sora laughed too. Axel was easy to laugh with.
“Oh yeah. Here.” Axel handed a seasalt ice cream to Sora. “Have you ever had one of these?”
“Hey! Seasalt ice cream! I haven’t had this in ages!” Sora took the treat and began to eat it enthusiastically. “I’ve really missed this on the islands. I’ve tried to explain it to Kairi, but she doesn’t believe that it’s good.”
Axel laughed a little bit. “I hope Kairi doesn’t hate me for what I did to her… I only realized my mistake too late.”
“I don’t think she hates you. Kairi can hold grudges sometimes…” Sora winced, remembering the tongue-lashing that he and Riku had gotten after the initial bliss of reunion had worn off. “But… I think she understands. In a way.”
“Well, I certainly hope so. It doesn’t make up for what I did, but…” Axel paused, his eyes settling to the horizon. “All I wanted was Roxas. And I wanted him so badly that I became blind to everything else, even people I never wanted to hurt in the first place. I loved him, you know.”
“He knows.” Sora hugged his knees to his chest. He could… feel it somehow.
“That means I love you too.” Axel turned to Sora, eyes serious.
Sora frowned. “You do?”
“You’re the same person, right? You both make me feel the same way.” Axel tilted his head back. “All I wanted was to make him happy, you know? I wanted him to… to smile and get to have a good life. He wasn’t meant for the Organization. Neither were you.” He turned back to Sora. “I wanna make you happy too. I wanna keep you safe. That’s why I’m here.”
“You’re keeping me safe inside my head?” Sora looked around. “What’s going to hurt me in here?”
“Kid…” Axel shook his head. “You don’t realize it now - you will when you’re older. The body’s nothing without the mind. And you’re a keyblader - your mind is different. You’ve seen things and done things and felt things that most people can’t even begin to imagine. And that was even before Namine took apart your head and put it back together again. There’s darkness in here, Sora. I’ve seen it. You can fight it yourself, but… Let me do it for you. As thanks for keeping me in your memories. Who knows - maybe I’ll even find Roxas in here.”
Sora’s head has been bowed, but now he raised it and looked over at Axel.
“Have you found him yet?”
Axel shook his head. “No… Not yet. But he’s in here somewhere. I’ll find him.” He smiled a little, bittersweet. “I will.”
“He’ll be glad to see you. He has a lot to say.” Sora moved closer to Axel and leaned his head on Axel’s shoulder. The gesture spoke of more than just mere romance - it was a gesture of the purest understanding and affection.
~