FicWad

A/N: This is an AU centered entirely on the Organization. Every member of the Organization (including Naminé). There will be romance, but it is not the central point of the story and it will be quite a while before it develops. That being said, I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review. I will appreciate it! Thank you.

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The darkness surrounded him. He saw a face looking down at him. His face!? No... not him. He was gone. He reached out a weak arm before the darkness pulled him straight back down again, destroying what hope he had to stay in his world. There was nothing left. Nothing, save the darkness. Was this what death was like? He wasn't sure if he'd be able to bear it for five minutes, let alone for eternity. He was spared, however, by a bright light. Axel had to squint and shield his eyes, suddenly having to adjust to this newfound light.
"You are a link to the chain that ties everything together," a female voice told him. Axel frowned, glancing around to find where the voice came from. There seemed to be nobody around, though.
"What? Who the hell are you?"
"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to restore peace and prosperity to the land."
"Lady, I think you've got the wrong guy," Axel stated, frowning deeply. She wanted him to restore peace and prosperity? Yeah, right.
"All fourteen of you must come together at one time to combine your hearts and restore the land to its former glory."
"That's all fine and dandy, but we have no hearts," Axel told her, feeling irritated. This chick was just not listening to him at all. Surprisingly, she chuckled softly.
"You have much to learn. This will give you a second chance to right your wrongs. Do you accept the challenge?" Axel hesitated a moment. Who was she to say he could live again and what he was supposed to do when he was alive. However, the thought of being back in the world again and maybe this time with a heart was far too tempting.
"All right," Axel grinned. "I'll take it. So... fourteen of us, eh?"
"Farewell, Axel."
There was another flash of light, then all went dark.
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Summer was the time of year when all the animals came from miles around to visit one particular spot. It wasn't unusual now to see predator and prey cooperating and walking side by side. The land was at peace for one week. Sadly this was not that week, but it was soon. Citizens for miles and miles around were looking forward to the time in which every living thing under the sun got along. Little did they know that the spirits were restless and those spirits had decided on a different event for that week.
Axel groaned in pain. Everything hurt-his body would not obey him and get up. Finally, he opened his eyes to observe his surroundings. It was then that he knew that he wasn't in the darkness anymore. The sun was, in fact, shining brightly above his head. Birds were chirping and everything was green. Axel finally sat up, frowning deeply.
"...the hell?" His cloak was gone, which didn't upset him as much as it would other members of the Organization, but it still felt strange without it. Axel glanced around to take in his surroundings. There was absolutely nothing around. Well, not nothing... there was a whole ton of grass, a few trees and a thin dirt path, but that didn't help Axel figure out where he was. He stood shakily and began to walk, unsure as to where the little dirt path would take him. Part of him was glad the cloak was gone because it was quite warm out. Strangely, there was no living thing in sight which was rather disturbing to an extent. Soon enough, however, Axel noticed that a monkey had appeared and seemed to be following him. At one point, it got close enough to tug on his pants leg, making frantic noise and attempting to drag him in a certain direction.
"Get away from me," Axel frowned, gently kicking it away. The monkey made an indignant noise and tugged on him harder. "This better be worth my time," he snapped, feeling pretty stupid for talking to a monkey.
In fact, the furball led him to a small, abandoned cottage. Axel glanced around trying to figure out what the thing wanted him to see. It wasn't much--in fact it was a dump. There was a tattered couch leaning against the wall of a hallway leading to who knows where. Cobwebs seemed to be the new decoration of the year as they lined every inch of the ceiling. A few pictures were hanging from the walls, but they were so dusty that Axel couldn't make out what they were supposed to be. A door stood open to reveal a rundown kitchen that still wasn't very exciting. Axel, feeling greatly annoyed, was ready to leave, but as he turned around a large bear appeared on the path that he had just been traveling down. Axel turned to look at the monkey, but it was gone. He shrugged it off and, as soon as the bear had disappeared, he left the cottage, deciding to be more wary of his surroundings. A guy could get killed in this... wherever he was.
The sun was setting by the time Axel finally reached a small town. The inn wasn't difficult to find because there were only about five buildings there anyhow. Axel entered and quickly booked a room, not particularly caring if he had the money to pay for it or not. There were several beds in the room and they were a bit 'pretty' for Axel's liking, but it was something to sleep on. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep. Outside in an alley behind the inn, a weasel was slinking through the shadows, a small pouch hanging from around its neck. As it scampered deeper into the alleyway, a strong hand reached out to pick it up by the middle. It let out several squeaks of protest, but they fell upon deaf ears. The large man slipped the pouch off the weasel's neck before setting it back down gently. It then hurried and hid behind a trash can before changing back into a man.
"I told you that you don't have to pick me up to get the bag," the weasel snapped. "Hand me my clothes." The man from before did just as the weasel demanded and tossed his pants to him.
"How much is it?" the first one asked, opening the pouch to peer inside.
"How should I know?" I can't count when I'm like that." He emerged from behind the trash can and snatched his shirt from the bigger man. "This is pathetic."
"It's survival," the larger one countered.
"Resorting to petty thievery to survive," he corrected, crossing his arms and frowning at his comrade.
"Zexion..."
"Don't, Lexaeus," Zexion held up a hand to halt him. "I should be used to it by now."
"Does the rabbit ever get used to being the prey?" Lexaeus gave his companion a slight smile. Zexion felt compelled to return it.
"What did you find while you were scouting today?" Zexion asked, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms.
"Nothing. That infernal monkey hasn't been around as of late," Lexaeus told him, looking rather concerned.
"Good," Zexion stated, nodding. "His meddling was becoming bothersome. We should be wary, though. He may be developing a plan against us." Lexaeus nodded in agreement, sighing softly.
"Where is Vexen?"
"He said that he would return tomorrow night," Zexion explained.
"It's just the two of us in that case," Lexaeus deducted. "Perhaps we should sleep tonight. The inn may have free rooms." Zexion frowned in disapproval.
"I really don't think that's a good idea... we have to be cautious..."
"And we shall," Lexaeus assured him. "I simply desire a bed one night instead of in an alley or a cave." Zexion hesitated for a moment. He looked up at an upstairs window of the inn, then back at his companion.
"Very well," he gave in. "I'll do the talking."
"It's what you do best," Lexaeus smiled at him. Zexion returned a slight smile before they emerged from the alley. Zexion straightened out his clothes before leading Lexaeus inside.
"Good evening, sirs," the innkeeper greeted cheerfully. "What will you be needin'?"
"A room, please," Zexion stated. "Just one will suffice."
"Ah... unfortunately we're booked for the night..." he said slowly, but then added hastily, "oh, but we have a room with only one guest, so you can share with him, if you don' mind sharin'!" He obviously didn't want to lose customers. Zexion glanced back at Lexaeus, who nodded.
"All right," he said. "Thank you for accommodating us. We appreciate it."
"Of course," the innkeeper smiled. "Though, I gotta warn you... there's been some thievin' around these parts."
"Has there?" Zexion raised his eyebrows. "Thank you for the warning. We'll have to be careful then." The man nodded and handed Zexion a key to the room.
"You folks have yerselves a good night now." Zexion smiled slightly at him before he and Lexaeus left to go to their room. Zexion unlocked the door and poked his head in. He frowned slightly. There was nobody there. The covers on one of the beds were in disarray, but other than that there was nothing. No bags and no other guest.
"Odd..." Lexaeus whispered. "He said that there was somebody in here."
"There is," Zexion told him softly. "I can smell him... it's familiar." Lexaeus raised his eyebrows and cocked his head, moving toward the bed. The two men exchanged glances and Zexion nodded. The larger man pulled back the covers, reached out swiftly and grabbed the fox by the scruff of the neck.
Axel's eyes widened and he started to squirm. He found himself unable to use his powers or his weapons so he simply decided to hit the man with his paw. Wait a minute... his paw!? Axel tried harder to get away, wanting to know what this man had done to him.
"Let go! Let go of me, dammit!" Whoever was holding him turned around, bringing Axel face to face with a man he thought was dead. More or less a man that he'd watched die.
"Well, well, well," Zexion grinned almost savagely. "What do we have here?" Axel let out a pitiful squeak, not liking the fact that he was powerless at the moment. "I didn't expect to see you again. How strange indeed."
Axel frowned, glancing around for an escape route. He wasn't sure what Zexion was going to do to him, but he was sure that he wouldn't like it one bit. He spotted an open window, but knew he had to get out of the other man's grasp. Judging by the grip he had on him, it was Lexaeus. Axel tilted his head as best he could and sank his now sharp teeth into Lexaeus' hand. He dropped him in surprised and Axel scampered to the window as fast as he could on four legs. He squirmed out and dropped into a trash can in an alley down below. He then continued to scamper away, unsure if they were following him or not. He managed to make it to the deserted house before he finally felt like he could rest. How was Zexion alive? Or perhaps it was just Axel who was dead... A firefly had perched itself in front of him.
"This is hopeless..." he stated to himself before lying down.
"You said it, kid," the firefly agreed. Axel's head snapped back up and his eyes widened. "Lost your way?"
"I must be going batshit crazy..."
"What's so crazy about talking to me?" the firefly snapped, sounding offended. "Am I not good enough for you or something? You have a problem with talking to a bug?"
"I didn't say that," Axel told her calmly. "I'm just not used to talking to animals and dead men, got it memorized?" The bug was silent for a moment before finally speaking again.
"Axel?"
"How do you know my name?"
"Never mind," the bug said. "Get some sleep. They can't get you here."
"How can I trust you?" Axel asked, frowning deeply but lying down anyway.
"You've got no choice," the bug said as Axel drifted off to sleep. The bug made sure he wasn't going to wake up before flying off its perch into the bathroom. It was there that she transformed back. She sighed softly and put her dress back on, grimacing. After a year she still hadn't gotten used to it. She left the bathroom and grabbed a blanket, placing it over the fox.
"Larxene!"
"Shut up!" she snapped, turning to glare at Marluxia as he entered the house. "You'll wake him up."
"Who?" Marluxia frowned, glancing around.
"The fox," Larxene said, pointing. Marluxia looked down at Axel and paused before nodding.
"Right... running from the weasel no doubt." Larxene nodded and sat down on the raggedy old couch. "Hn... we'll see in the morning."
"It's not long until then," Larxene told him, crossing her arms and nodding to the window. Marluxia glanced outside and frowned.
"Was I out that long?"
"Yeah, no shit." Marluxia frowned, but didn't say anything. Instead, he moved to the kitchen to find something to eat.
"This is pathetic," Marluxia sighed, looking around for anything edible.
"I know. Why are we running from that bunch again?"
"Because they can squash you like a bug-" he ignored the glare he received from Larxene and went on, "-and that bear can kill me with one swoop of his paw," Marluxia finished, returning with a banana in hand. By then, the fox was gone and a man slept there with only a small blanket to cover him. "He just got here today..."
"Did you see him earlier?" Marluxia nodded. "Do you think the others will follow?"
"Probably, if they Keyblade bearer got to them..." The fox stirred and made a slight noise. Both Marluxia and Larxene became silent to watch him. Axel opened his eyes and was quite surprised to see those two staring down at him.
"Holy shit!" he sat up, but immediately pulled the blanket over himself. Larxene smirked slightly.
"Good morning, sunshine," she said.
"This place is like city of the dead," Axel stated, frowning deeply. "What's going on?" Marluxia chuckled softly and tossed him a pair of pants.
"Change and come back out," he said. "I'll explain everything then." Axel nodded slowly and stood. Marluxia groaned and looked away and Larxene rolled her eyes.
"Show off," she said. Axel grinned at her and headed into the bathroom to change. Upon returning to the room he sat down on the couch and waited.
"Okay, shoot," Axel said, glancing up at Marluxia and crossing his arms.
"All right," he said. "As I see it, this is where we come when we die, but the thing is that we turn into animals at night."
"Yeah, no shit." Axel rolled his eyes.
"There's a way to control it," Larxene butted in.
"That's good. I'd like to stay looking like a human most of the time. How?"
"You have to do it on your own," Marluxia told him.
"Peachy." He crossed his arms back over his chest and sighed. "How long did it take you?"
"Almost a year to control it completely," Marluxia said with a slight frown, watching Axel closely. Axel scratched his head and groaned softly.
"Well, isn't that great..."
"It's not that bad," Larxene assured him. "You just have to make sure you aren't around people when it gets dark. You were lucky last night."
"Well, you should also avoid people when the sun comes up, unless you want to give them the same show you gave us," Marluxia continued.
"How about I just stay inside and never leave here again?" Axel asked, mockingly. "This blows."
"No, just when it gets dark and when it gets light," Marluxia corrected him.
"You were always a fast learner," Larxene reminded him. "It should be easy for you to figure this all out."
"It better be..." Larxene smirked slightly.
"Now there's the Axel I know. Don't worry too much." She turned to Marluxia. "I'm starving. Let's go to town." Marluxia nodded and motioned for Axel to get up.
Back in the village, the innkeeper marveled at the fact that one room previously had three guests. All that was left now as a pile of clothes and claw marks on the window sill.

END CHAPTER ONE

A/N: That was my first chapter. I do hope you all enjoyed it. I love feedback, positive and negative. Tell me what you think. Did it go a little bit too fast? Would you like more descriptions? Let me know. I'd love to hear it. I take all comments into consideration and I'll answer questions at the beginning of the next chapter. Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out soon as it is already halfway finished.

Always,
Lily