Last Petal's Secret [open]

[Axel]

What was it, Axel wondered, that made the Organization's Number III return to this castle so often?

True, it probably wasn't the best use of his time. But Axel was a bit of a freelancer with his missions; if he got interested by or curious about something in the meantime, he pursued that instead. It wasn't as dumb a tactic as it sounded--generally the kinds of things that caught Axel's attention were the kinds of things Xemnas might want to know about anyway.

The situation was a little unusual now, though. Xemnas was the boss man, but he was no longer exactly the Boss Man, and while he didn't really have the will to order Axel's demise he might not have the authority left, either. Figuring out the complicated politics of these new playing pieces called "soul feeders" would take time.

Fortunately, Axel was patient.

He wasn't happy about waking up without a heart, alone in the passage between worlds with a busted up castle that never existed on one end and a screwed up town that could never be real on the other--but he couldn't really call it sad either, now could he? The only facet of his life that made sense before he ended it still made sense. Roxas was the be all end all, meaning Sora was the one ally he couldn't betray.

So Axel slipped into Xaldin's old haunt at the castle belonging to one who had always been lucky. Beast who got back his Belle; prince who got back his kingdom, all sheer force of will and this confusingly involved emotion known as love.

He stuck like a shadow to the walls, but it was hard. The castle wasn't nearly as dilapidated as he seemed to remember, and Organization cloaks stood out in brightly lit places. Nonetheless, catlike steps took him down the hall to the forbidden West Wing, and in spite of the change from four years ago he kept an ear out for the beast that used to roam these corridors.

[Roxas]

Set on the Third Day After Resurrection

Displacing any sense of silence, or secrecy for that matter was a corridor; specifically a corridor of darkness that opened right up in the center of the hallway that the flurry of the dancing flames was currently traversing. Out from it stepped what would have been a familiar face, had it not been hidden by the hood of the very cloak that Axel wore himself.

"He's asleep," said the youth beneath the hood. "Funny, I don't remember you being the stealthy-type." With a hand he tossed back his hood, revealing locks of golden blonde and spikes along with bright, blue eyes.

"'Yo, been awhile," Roxas was surprisingly content with the situation, despite the potential risk of holding an open conversation in the middle of what could still be fortified, enemy territory. Behind him, the blackness of what would have been still a corridor, faded from view and then vanished all together. "Xemnas told me where I could find you; apparently, everyone is up and about again...Xaldin won't like you moving in on his turf." He stretched a bit and turned his head slightly to view the opposite end of the hallway.

All clear by the looks of it, he thought.

[Auron]

OOC: Im not aware of the current situation regarding the matter of whether you can post in multiple threads or not. Just letting you know.

Auron quitely opened the door to the castle, entering with stealth. He didn't know who or what was in the castle, and didn't want a confrontation. As he stepped, He noticed how dark this castle was. There wasn't really any light, and all the walls were a dark shade. What he did notice, was what sounded like conversation to the left of him. With curiosity, Auron walked to the door headed to what looked like the West part of the castle. He drew his blade, and gently sat the tip on the floor, to relieve the weight the sword had. He gently turned the handle to the door, and pushed it open every so slightly and quietly. He peered into the doors opening, and noticed two figures. One with blonde hair, what looks like to be in his mid-teens, and another male with fiery red hair. This male looked to be about early twenties. As he observed the two, he noticed they had both been wearing the same outfit. He figured the two were in a group, or organization. He was quite curious. Especially towards the blonde male. The blonde male reminded him of the Sora fellow that he had met in the Underworld. He resembled him greatly. Same looks and all. Only difference was they hair color. Auron peered at them, leaning against the open door. All of a sudden the door opened, leaving him standing there in the open to the two figures. He stood up straight, presenting himself to the two. "..Hello.. The name is Auron. What are you two doing here?." Auron then picked his large sword of the ground, and set the dull end on his shoulder looking at the two, awaiting their response.

[Axel]

"Hh--!"

The telltale drone of a portal coming together made Axel flinch back into what might have been an attack stance, if he'd had the Flames on him. As it was he wasn't exactly looking for a fight, especially with the Organization so fragmented and the unsettling chance that Saïx might still be keen on enforcing that "maximum punishment" stuff he'd been talking about. In fact, Axel was completely certain he was about to see none other than the Organization's Luna Diviner walk through that portal and was drumming up in his head every reason why he shouldn't be penalized--or at least not outright killed or Dusk'd--when the figure's stature gave away that it couldn't be anyone that intimidating.

Roxas.

It was a silhouette Axel knew like the back of his hand, had memorized like the taste of sea-salt or weight of his weaponry or color of the sunset when he was right on time. He didn't need to see the hood go back to know exactly how his best friend would look underneath.

Roxas?

But what was he doing back--well, maybe he should've accounted for this. Maybe--but could they go back? Could they really go back this time, be friends again...

For a moment he said nothing, still poised like a dragon ready to snap, and then he was moving before he really knew how or why--boots thudding in a dead way against the carpeting and one skinny hand swinging out to take the boy by the upper arm just to see if he was real. And of course he wasn't, Nobody and all, but Axel and the alien embers that burned where his eyes should have been didn't seem to care if his grip was too hard. "Roxas, what are you doing wearing that--"

Cloak, should have been the word, but the advent of a stranger made him snap to attention like a snake. He let up, unaware of it if Roxas had already pulled free to begin with, and Eternal Flames responded with a wave of heat and a metal chink.

"Man oh man did you pick a bad time to get involved, buddy. How about you poke that nose into someone else's business~?"

[Roxas]

Roxas did not have to be a mind reader to see that his friend was quite shocked to see him; and in all honesty he was quite shocked to be back himself. He had many questions, and most would have to remain unanswered. However, his previous issues with the Organization, for now, were a thing of the past. As far as he was concerned, he needed Xemnas and his lot of dastardly fellows, to gather intelligence on his current situation, and the situation of everyone underneath those known as the Soul Feeders.

The Brownie in him had a bad feeling about all of this. Although not the brightest, Sora, had a nose for sniffing out trouble; and if his memories were anything to go by, another secret organization operating in the bounds of their universe, was not something to celebrate about. In fact, it was something that only King Mickey would be able to understand. Why his other put so much faith in that talking mouse was beyond him, but the past had proven the King to be right before.

Roxas was so caught up in his own stream of memories, that he had hardly noticed the footfalls of his former friend. He had zoned at for a moment, and now the fiery haired nobody was tugging at his arm like there was no tomorrow. "Hey Axel, loosen up alright; I'm real," he managed to say while shaking his arm free. Briefly, as they were interrupted by an unexpected guest, he massaged the affected area with his opposite hand and took a few steps forward. How he longed to explain himself, and well, to go back to the way he was before Sora, before everything. Yet, there were more pressing matters at the moment.

"Auron...?" He said the name back to himself aloud; loud enough to be heard and in a questioning manner. A memory roared past his eyes. In it, Sora fought the heartless beneath the Herculean Coliseum in Hades' underworld. The man in red had been there and had helped Brownie; and as the memory dispersed, Roxas brushed up past Axel and gently reassured him with a pat to the arm.

"Easy, why don't we see why he's here first?" Roxas had just the way to do that. Appealing to the man whom had helped his other was child's play. As he stepped closer to the swordsman he spoke: "I could ask you the same question; 'lookin for Sora?" He stopped short of the man and peered up at him. If the keyblader's similarities had not been enough, perhaps his knowledge of past events would be enough to lighten the mood after Axel's outburst.

[Auron]

Auron looked at the one whos hair looked like it was on fire, stared at him with a blank gaze. He then turned to the blonde.

"..Matter of fact, I am looking for Sora. I haven't seen him in a few years, and now that I have been brought back to life, I thought I would see old friends and allies. I could of just let you and flame-boy over here just continue on with your petty conversation, but you reminded me of Sora, the looks, the blade of yours. So I thought i would walk right in and ask you if you could point me to where Sora would be. As for you",

Auron pointed to the the male with the red hair, "..I don't think you want to be starting a fight, especially knowing that you are trying to sneak around. You dont want to alert the current owner of this castle. That would just ruin your little escapade wouldn't it?"

Auron would then reach toward his jug of sake he had by his side, and would open the top. He would bring the tip to his lips, taking a small sip of it. He knew that the man with the fiery hair wanted to fight. Auron knew it probably wouldn't be such an issue. But he was smart enough to know that the blonde was on his side, and the current castle owner wouldn't be too friendly himself.