The dark rainy night stormed all throughout the home of Organization XIII. The vicious lightning clapped tremors all throughout the city, causing brilliant lights to flash through the dark sky. The rain pounded heavily on the castle with loud thick drops. Roxas awoke with a start, jolting up in his bed as he watched the bright lights flash outside his window. The storm alarmed him; tonight was the night that he and his two best friends were to escape together to a new life. The storm could wake up the others. If they were going to leave, they had to leave now.

Roxas quickly gathered anything he could; food, potions, panaceas, ethers, elixers, anything he could get his hands on to prepare for the long journey ahead. Even the Moogle that worked for the Organization helped, giving Roxas a few supplies the day before on the house. Roxas threw on his coat, shoes and grabbed his backpack. With quiet footsteps, he inched out of his room and made a beeline straight towards Xion’s room which was closest to him than Axel. He hoped both were awake and knew they had to leave earlier than planned.

“Xion…!!!” Roxas whispered sharply, quietly tapping on her door in hopes to get her attention. “Xion!!!”

Edited February 2, 20169 yr by Aqua7KH

Axel was still awake, gazing out his flashy window. He was leaning against the wall in his room with his arms crossed in a calm manner. Hearing the Thunder two more times (after the one Roxas woke up from), Axel grabbed his two Chakrams and slowly, but casually, left his room, soon to find Roxas knocking on Xion's door. "Psst, hey, Roxas. Let me give it a try." Axel whispered to Roxas. In a quiet and sneaky manner, he knocked on Xion's door two times, then opened her door slowly to peek inside. "Xion, you awake yet?" Axel whispered inside.

Xion took a bite of her sea salt ice cream, smiling as she watched the Twilight Town sun set with her two best friends. Running away had been scary, but now that they were away, it felt like paradise. She wasn't even worried about being tracked down. The Organization was behind them for good.

" " Roxas said.

Wrinkling her forehead, Xion gave Roxas an odd look. She knew he said something, but it had sounded far off and muffled.

"Xion..." Roxas said again, but it was still muffled.

"What?" she asked, starting to feel worried.

Both Roxas and Axel didn't react to her, they just smiling and eating their ice cream.

"Guys, what's going on?" Xion asked, her panic rising.

Before her eyes, Axel and Roxas slowly turned into Heartless. She scrabbled back, dropping her ice cream, trying to summon her Keyblade. That's when she remembered she hadn't packed it. She tried to cast a spell, but nothing happened. She also hadn't packed an ether. The Roxas Heartless jump at Xion, which she managed to avoid, but ended up falling over in the process. The Axel Hearless jumped on her, waving a "Winner" ice cream stick in her face.

"Stop!" She yelled, then her world went black.

 

"Ah!" Xion exclaimed as she sat straight up bed, her eyes wide from the dream she had just had.

It took her a moment to realize she was still in her room in the Castle That Never Was. She remembered being so nervous about the escape that she couldn't sleep. She must have drifted off finally. Figuring she still had a couple of hours, she considered whether to try to get more sleep. But if she slept, she might have more weird dreams.

She was laying back down when Axel opened the door and asked if she was ready.

"Yes!" Xion whispered frantically as she jumped out of bed and snatched up her bag.

After her dream, she had the urge to check her bag to make sure she had packed everything, but this would be the 4th recheck of her packing and the boys were already ready.

Xion popped out of her room and closed the door quietly. She looked a little disheveled with her coat and hair, and her eyes were wide with tiredness and nerves.

"Let's go." She said, nodding to her best friends.

Roxas looked extremely worried when Xion exited her room. She looked like she was about to pass out any minute. He slowly reached out his hands and placed them on her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Roxas said with a frown. "You look really sick... If you want we could do this another night..." He looked down at Xion's bag and reached out to grab it so he could carry it.

"I don't want you to get hurt." He looked up to Axel, concern written all over his face. "Is there any worlds that you know about that we could stay in? You know about more worlds than us."

Axel nodded at Xion when she said she was ready to go. He then turned to Roxas, who asked him about where they might be able to go. "Hmm... Let's see... Well, I know of one place, but I'm not so sure it would be comfortable to live at. Tell you what, while we're sneaking, I mean, exiting, out of the castle, I'll think about the place we should go." Axel grinned at Xion and Roxas.

Xion looked up and down the hall for other members. Since she figured that Saix never slept, she half expected him stalking the halls. Armed with his clip board, Saix would scold and insult any he found up late.

"I bet he catches Xigbar a lot." She thought, still a little loopy from her short nap.

When Roxas put his hands on her shoulders she turned to look at him. She felt a little guilty that Roxas was so worried about her.

"I'll be fine, Roxas." She said, nicely enough to show she appreciated the concern, but firmly enough to prevent any back talk. "And if we wait, I'll probably be more nervous."

She made an effort to smooth down her disheveled hair and coat. She moved her bag away from Roxas.

"No, you have your bag, I have mine." She said firmly. "I'm not having you carrying my weight again."

Shouldering her bag, she turned to follow Axel.

"Just about anywhere is better then here." She said softly.

Roxas looked back and fourth across the halls as well. Honestly it felt very strange. This place was his home- or at the very least closest to one. Roxas never knew a life without the Organization. What would he do without it? He smiled at Xion's determination and slung his bag over his shoulder. This was going to be a long trip. But a great one.

"Then let's go before the thunder wakes anyone else up." As he said that, even more thunder clapped in the sky and the shifting of a bed could be heard in the room next to them. "Uh-oh."

"Oh, great, looks like we're gonna have to make a break for stairs." Axel whispered. "They're gonna wake up any second!" He ran ahead and looked down the stairs, then turned back to Roxas and Xion. "It's all clear. C'mon."

 

From a loud, booming thunder, Xaldin had woken. He wasn't startled, just a plain, calm face. Without even having to turn his head, he heard some ruckus out his door. Xigbar, just go away already... he thought to himself, laying back down.

Xion quietly followed after Axel when he gave the all clear sign. The stealth training the Organization had given her for missions came in handy here. She proceeded past him and down the stairs. She tentatively poked her head into the Grey Area, but saw no one.

"Still clear." Xion hissed back to Axel and Roxas.

With things going well so far, she pressed on through the Grey Area towards the Hall of Empty Melodies.

Roxas followed closely behind his two best friends, trying to remain as quiet as possible despite his loud sneakers disagreeing. With a small sigh and hands tightening around the straps on his bag, Roxas poked his head out into the Hall of Empty Melodies after they crossed the Grey Area.

"It's all clear-" Roxas suddenly went deathly quiet. He saw Saïx in the hall, walking with a clipboard in one hand and a small lantern in the other. He wasn't paying much attention, more focusing on what was on the board.

"Imbicel... Demyx never ceases to dissapoint me..." He hissed to himself, flipping a page as he stood in the hallway.

Roxas went back and looked to Axel and Xion.

"It's Saïx!" He mounted, pointing around the corner.

Axel waited for Roxas's 'All clear.' signal, but when he heard him pause and he also noticed Saix in process. Axel cringed. "Darn! What in the world is he doing in the middle of Empty Melodies?" Axel whispered in an upset tone. He began to think of a way past. Axel sparked an idea, though it was a bit risky. "Guys, I got an idea of how we can slip past without getting caught. However, you may not like it, but it's our only option of passing onward. Follow my lead." Axel explained to Roxas and Xion the crazy plan. His plan was to get the two of them to hang on the edge of the floor that seemingly looks like the eternal abyss. Axel would then create a distraction that would make Saix go past them and leave the room. Axel's face was a crazy one. "Well, what do you say? Think we can do it?"

Xion tensed up instantly when Roxas mentioned Saix. That blue haired meany was near the top of the list of things she wasn't gonna miss about the Organization. Axel pipping up with a plan made Xion feel a bit better, but the details concerned her.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked, looking over the edge to the perilous drop.

Confirming that she could get a handhold on the edge, she gave Axel a concerned look.

"Saix might not buy your explanation for being up." She continued quickly.

Time was short, but she didn't want to risk her friend if she didn't have to.

Axel thought about it for a moment. Saix might potentially believe Axel if he said that he is chasing after Xion and Roxas, however Saix would be very unlikely to just pass by without noticing Xion and Roxas's hands holding on the edge. Axel thought of a different plan. "Good point, Xion. Hmm..." Sighing in the idea of his other plan, Axel spoke up. "Okay, I've got two other plans we could try: We either risk it all and jump down there and hope for a safe landing... OR you two can hide behind the wall back there while I try to lure him away, and afterwards you two can make a run for it. I'd catch up to you guys when Saix loses my trail." He scratched his hair and smiled,"That's the best I can come up with right now."

Roxas rubbed the back of his head as plans were being thrown around. Figures it had to be Saïx that was there to ruin absolutely everything. Roxas never liked the guy. Ever. He just wanted to put a Keyblade in that 'X' scar of his. With a worried sigh, Roxas looked out onto the edge of the hall and looked back to Axel.

"We might make a ton of noise though. That guy hears everything. Even if we teleport out of here he'll hear us. I guess we could hide..." Roxas looked to Xion. "What do you want to do?"

Xion nervously glanced in the direction Saix was coming from. She wasn't wild about any of the plans, but time was too short to come up with another one.

"Let's hide behind the wall." She finally said.

She pulled her hood up and paused to give Axel a concerned look.

"Please be careful." She whispered.

Zipping up her jacket, Xion quietly ducked around the corner, trying to control her breathing. Why couldn't that blue haired meany have been human enough to sleep?

Axel was surprisingly touched by Xion's concern, even though he had no heart. "No need to worry about me. I'll meet you guys later." He began walking towards Saix and prepared for a preemptive strike on Saix! "Sorry, SAIX, but I've gotten annoyed by your useless list of missions." Axel ran at him while summoning a circular barrier of flames around himself and Saix.

 

 

Axel began wondering what he was thinking when he came up with this idea. The only real motive he could think about was helping Roxas and Xion escape.

Roxas couldn't help but worry as well, but he knew Axel could certainly handle himself. Roxas viewed Axel as one of the strongest guys in the Organization, after all. He pulled up his hood and wished Axel luck. When he realized what Axel was actually going to do, Roxas' eyes widened and he held out a hand for the elder.

"Wait Axel-" but it was too late. He was already running at Saïx.

 

Saïx was busy checking his clipboard when all of a sudden he heard the annoying sound of his somewhat former friend. He turned to see Axel going on about something as he ran towards him. Saïx honestly really didn't know how to react at such a random outburst and he half expected Axel to be joking or something even when he summoned the wall of flames.

"What are you going on about?" Saïx asked, eyes darknening as he slowly realized Axel's true intentions. He summoned his claymore and readied it, redness slowly rising to his head as berserk started to build up.

"You best be joking..." Saïx hissed. "If you know what is good for you."

Axel kept the flames burning long enough and loud enough so that Roxas and Xion could run by, unheard by Saix. Yelling loud enough so Saix could hear him, Axel furiously yelled out,"You're the one who's making up all the missions, aren't you?! We haven't heard a single thing from the boss since our meeting a month ago!" He summoned his chakrams, prepared to fight with a burning, determined look in his eyes.

 

Xaldin woke up so suddenly, from the sound of thunder coming from outside again. "Ugh... They won't even get some shut eye for one minute, will they?" As cranky as he was at the moment, he got up and left his room. He heard commotion coming from down the hallway, sounded like it was coming from the Hall of Empty Melodies. He slowly approached the hallway, where Roxas and Xion were hiding behind. "Halt!" Xaldin yelled.

Xion's eyes widened in surprise and fear as Axel created his wall of flames. What was he thinking? He just had to talk to Sax or something. But attacking him?

"Roxas, we got-" Xion hissed, but fell silent with Xaldin's yelled challenge.

Mind racing, Xion cursed her sleeping in. If she had been ready, maybe they would have been fast enough to get out. But when you encountered difficulties in a mission, you improvised.

"Why are Axel and Saix fighting?" She asked Xaldin. "Roxas and me found them like this."

Saïx really was utterly just perplexed at such a random event. He still expected for Axel to suddenly stop and burst into laughter over the weird idiotic prank. But nothing was happening. Axel kept going. Saïx hissed and clutched tightly at his claymore. He was quickly loosing his patience.

"You pathetic ingrate... Doesn't the past mean anything to you?!" He growled loudly, his voice growing louder and louder. "You will regret ever showing your worthless face tonight!"

 

Roxas only watched at Axel's obvious apparent suicide attempt. He wanted to just jump in and help him but honestly Roxas didn't know what to do. Xion was here. If it wasn't for her Roxas would've followed right behind.

That was when he heard Xaldin.

Roxas turned around and suddenly felt a strange faint sensation, one like the one he felt when he fell into a coma so many days ago. Xion tried to play it off and Roxas decided to go along with it.

"Y-Yeah...." Roxas uttered, sounding tired and reaching up to rub his eye. For a 'zombie' as Axel referred him to, Roxas was a good actor.

"They're so loud it woke us up. I got a bunch of missions to do tomorrow so I want to at least sleep a little bit..."

Xaldin was infuriated right now. His eyes were somewhat "bloodshot". If he didn't get his rest, he'd go more bezerk than Lexaeus! "Ugh... Why are those two fighting this late? Childs! Leave us. I will deal with these two." Strange enough, Xaldin knew about their plan to escape, he was actually 'helping' Xion and Roxas more than giving orders. He was implying that they should go back, and use a Dark Corridor to escape. Xaldin did not, however, know that Axel was part of their escape plan. He walked into the Hall of Empty Melodies with this annoyed look on his face. "Why are you two fighting?!" He yelled beyond the pillars of flame. "Stop this ignorance at ONCE!"

 

Axel, who has been playing the most convincing role in him and his friends' escape plan, continued fooling with Saix. "I'm getting tired of your presence! I've got one thing to say to you..." Suddenly, Axel lowered the flames surrounding the two. "...Bwahahahahahahaah! You totally fell for it! Ahahahahaaaaahh!" Axel began laughing maniacally. "You should've seen the look on your face. Bahahaha...aahhhh..."

Xion had a surge of relief when it looked like Xaldin bought the ruse, but it was trying to work against the tension and fear that the current situation with the escape and probably being found out by Saix, so she didn't really feel it.

"Come on!" She hissed to Roxas. "We'll take Naught's Skyway around and down."

She tried to drag her friend along. Who else was gonna wake up tonight?

Roxas was completely relieved that Xaldin believed them. That was one less thing to worry about. When Xaldin told them to leave, Roxas didn't waste one second in doing so. He took Xion's hand and practically teleported out of there with how fast he got out of that room. As soon as they were at Naught's Skyway, Roxas raised a hand to summon a dark corridor. When in doubt, so to Twilight Town he supposed. Roxas looked towards the exit in which they just came. "..." Axel was still there.

 

Meanwhile, as soon as the flames dissapeared Axel began to laugh and Xaldin entered the equation. The blue haired member had no idea how to react. He was embarrassed, confused and overall /outraged./

With eyes wide and pale skin now red as a tomato from anger, Saïx would've actually knocked Axel out with his claymore just for the hell of it if it wasn't for Xaldin coming in. Saïx was silent- speechless. No words could come out of his mouth for what the firetruck just happened.

"..." He instantly dropped his claymore, the weapon making a loud metallic thud before disappearing. Saïx's eyes were completely yellow.

 

(Saïx's face: )

Axel was still laughing his head off over Saix's reaction, it was too hysterical. Then, when he heard a single footstep from behind him, he suddenly stopped laughing. He knew that step; it was Xaldin. As Xaldin came forward, the furious look in his eyes showed that he wasn't very happy with any of this. "Do you two imbeciles even know how LATE it is?!" Xaldin was beginning to think he knew why Roxas and Xion wanted to escape; he was thinking that they couldn't stand the racket from the other members any longer.

 

"Whoa, hey, easy. Eeaasy. We aren't lookin' for any more trouble. R-right, Saix?" Axel was scared of Xaldin, what with being part Dragoon and all.

Xion blinked furiously at the portal Roxas had summoned. Now why hadn't she thought of that. Must still be recovering from her nap. She was about to go through when she caught Roxas looking back. She knew what he was feeling. She felt it too.

"Come on." She urged, but not pushy. "Axel can get away. And if not, we will come back for him."

Putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, Xion hoped Roxas was more convinced by the argument then she was.

Saïx seriously wanted to kill somebody that night. And he was certain it wasn't going to be another one of Demyx's dancer nobodies again. No- Saïx wanted to wipe Axel out of existance for what he just did.

"How late it is?!" Saïx hissed loudly as his eyes turned all yellow. He was almost into berserker. He threw his claymore at Axel, it missing him by a hair for Saïx was able to at least force himself to miss.

"I am conducting my WORK at this late hour and that fool approached me with his insolence!"

 

Roxas meanwhile really didn't want to leave. He didn't know if he could bring himself to do it. But Xion was right... If they went back now it would be a waste of what Axel just did. With a small sigh and a nod, Roxas decided it was best to just go.

"You're right... This leads to the clock tower." He looked to Xion. "Ready? We are never coming back here again." His hand tightened around his backpack.