Chapters the punishment
My little… AXEL???- part one: the punishment
On top of the highest point of the nobodies’ castle, Xemnas, Xigbar, and Xaldin were found. Roxas, the key blades chosen one escaped, but this was not the problem they were discussing. Axel, unaware that he was being watched from a distance allowed Roxas to escape.
“Your minds made up?” he asked as his best friend past him by.
“Why did the key blade choose me? I have to know!”
Axel stopped leaning on the wall to face his friend and yelled “you can’t turn on the organization. You get on their bad side, and they will destroy you!”
Roxas stopped, cocked his head slightly in his friend’s direction and said “no one would miss me!” he walked off, leaving Axel friendless. After a moment, he said “that’s not true! I would…”
Meanwhile, Xemnas turned to face his comrades and said “did you hear that? He would miss his friend . What a pointless statement. To miss is to feel, and to feel would mean he has a heart… we all know he does not have one. And now, our key blade master has escaped. Axel will pay dearly for this lack of forceful responding… but first, he has one mission to do. Tell our injured companion, Saix, he did a commendable job for at least trying to stop Roxas, and tell Axel to go retrieve Xion."
Axel, as we all know retrieves Xion, and brings her back. The next day, however, no one remembered who she was, or that she was even in the castle! That mission was supposed to relieve any punishment for his negligence. But it having never happened in the memories of any of the Nobodies gave the organization no choice but to punish Axel!
He was summoned to the top of the castle where Xemnas and Saix were.
“What’s this all about?”
Xemnas, who had been staring at the moon, turned and stared at Axel.
“… what… did I do something wrong?”
Xemnas simply turned to Saix and said “for your courageous act of at least attempting to stop the key blade wielder, I am allowing you to take the day off.” He then turned his vision to Axel. “I expected better from you, Axel…”
“Oh please. How was I supposed to know he would try and escape?”
“You were right beside him as he left. He passed right by you, and you did nothing. We are an organization, and we have rules. It was not Saix’ mission to attempt to stop the key blade wielder from escaping, but he still tried. You, as I said, did nothing.”
Axel stared at the floor, pondering what punishment he would receive. “So, what’s going to happen now??? Are you going to turn me into dusk? Make me fade away?”
“Your punishment will be your mission for the next two days. We still need you for certain jobs like assassinations. You will visit a new world tomorrow. It is a world that has no gummi route linked to it. The only way to enter it is through a dark corridor which only I can manifest.”
“Huh, fair enough… what’s this new world called?”
“Equestria… you will be sent there to do recon, and to recruit other nobodies that you may find. Also, it is a good idea to spread darkness to this new world, but of course, we will strip you of your powers and your weapons. You won’t need them there.”
Saix walked to the stares and left, leaving Axel there with Xemnas.
“So, all I have to do is tough it out in this new world?”
“Indeed.”
With this conversation over and done with, Axel left. He spent the whole rest of the day in his room.
“How did this happen?” he asked himself while he lay in his bed. Sitting up, he suddenly noticed a small piece of paper sitting on his window sill. Getting up and wondering over to it, He picked it up and turned it over to see it was a letter. He opened it up and found an ice cream stick that said “winner” across it. It was from Roxas!
He stood there, staring at it for a while before putting it away. The night was cold, and Axel found it hard to sleep. He caught himself talking to himself in his mind a few times.
Equestria… if I’m not mistaken, that was the place that the boss went to years ago.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
A dark corridor opened as Xemnas exited Equestria, Limping and teetering on the edge of fading. The corridor slammed shut and sent gusts of wind spraying behind the Nobody! Xigbar, number two of the organization asked in a sarcastic tone
“had fun?”
“Seal off that world. The threat there is unbearable… cursed… key blades!”
That night Xigbar did as he was told, but more holes that led into the world were still present.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Axel thought about how he received news that Xemnas had been felled by not one, but two key blade wielders! He would have to be careful not to run into one of them.
His door opened and Saix entered.
“Don’t I have any privacy in this castle?” Axel asked.
“You are to Report to the lounge. Your mission starts shortly.”
He exited the room. Axel got out of his bed, and proceeded to the lounge. Once there, his fellow organization members were their doing what they normally do. Luxord was playing what appeared to be Gin with Xigbar. Xaldin stared out the window at the heart shaped moon. Demyx plucked some strings on his sitar, and Saix waited at the far end of the room, staring blankly at the drowsy Axel. As soon as he entered the room, everyone momentarily stopped and stared at him.
“Well, good morning to you to!” he said with a sigh.
Walking up to Saix, Axel thought “all I want to do is to just hurry up and get out of here.”
Saix told Axel to wait for Xemnas. “He will be here momentarily.”
“…So, how did it feel having your ass kicked by a kid” Axel asked teasingly.
“You would be wise not to irritate with me. I may convince Xemnas to make your punishment even longer than it already is!”
“Oh, come now, Saix. You don’t honestly believe I would leave for today’s mission without at least hearing about how Roxas walked right through you as if you were never there, would you?!”
Saix closed him eyes, now content on ignoring Axel.
“You’re no fun…”
Xemnas entered and approached Axel.
“Your chakram’s.”
Axel turned to face Xemnas, extended his arms, and summoned his weapons. Flames circled his arms and formed into the materialistic weapons he used on missions every day. He handed them over.
“Now then,” Xemnas said as he raised his hand. It looked like he was clutching some sort of invisible orb. The spikes of nothingness seeped through xemnas’ hand. Axel felt his magic wither away as flames poured from his body and into the void of nothingness.
“You will get your power and weapon back once your mission is complete.”
Axel turned and waited for the corridor to open. When Xemnas stalled, Axel asked “am I going, or not?”
“… The key blade wielders of this world can detect the dark scent that is seeped into your skin. Keep a low profile, and do not be caught. The corridor will open once more on the second day during the night. Once the sun sets, you have two hours to return to the corridor. Otherwise, we will assume the worst and close it, sealing you inside the world forever. There will be no escaping.”
“Are we done here?”
Without answering the rhetorical question, Xemnas opened the corridor for Axel, and he departed. Once he was gone,
Xigbar asked Xemnas if it was a good idea to send Axel to that world.
“It was your idea to do this. If you’re feeling regret, it is too late now.”
“You know I can’t feel .”
“Then why are we having this conversation?”
with that, Xemnas left the lounge.
my little... AXEL???- part 2: this is punishment???
Stepping out into the grassy land of Equestria, Axel notices something… odd. Looking down, he notices his coat had disappeared! What’s worse is the fact that he was a pony!!!
“What the… WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??? I"M A PONY!!!” outraged and humiliated, he knew the other members could be watching him. They were probably laughing at how ridiculous he looked! Looking around, he noticed nobody was around. In the distance however, he saw what looked like a town. Could that be part of Equestria? It must be! He stood there on all fours smelling the fresh air of the world. The wind was breezy, and it almost made Axel feel better about his predicament!
He decided to get a better look at his body and noticed his flank had what appeared to be a tattoo of some sort! “When did I get this?” he asked himself. Upon further inspection, he noticed it was his number in roman numerals! “Well that’s fitting. A red mane, red fur and a tattoo on my flank that signifies what number I am in the organization… I hate it already! Oh well… might as well check out that town now.” He tried to walk but kept tripping over his hooves! After fifteen seconds he got the hang of it though. “Two days? No problem!”
As he entered town, he saw everybody was a pony, and they all had tattoos on their flanks! Some were cute, and some had no meaning to him. He walked along the town, now with a better control of his stride, and looked around. It didn’t seem like that bad of a place. Then he noticed that every pony there was staring at him like he was a demon or something! “… uh, howdy!” he said in the friendliest voice he could muster. “Don’t mind me, I’m just strolling through your lovely town of… uh” he was cut off by a voice coming from behind him!
“Ponyville!” Axel turned around to a cute, pink pony with tattoos of balloons on her flank!
“Oh, so that’s what you call this place?”
“Yep, my name’s Pinkie Pie! If I might say, I just LOVE your mane! Though red isn’t my cup of apple cider, it sure does look good on you! Say, do you like to party hardy???”
“Sure, why not? The names Axel! Got it memorized?”
“I sure do! And, I'll wright it on the welcome Axel banner I’m gonna use for your special “welcome to Ponyville Axel party! ”
“Whoa, you sure are friendly. I kinda like that. I’m gonna be here for about two days though. So there’s no need for” he was interrupted by Pinkie once again
“Oh, don’t be so shy! We don’t care if you’re visiting for a minute. You still deserve a party in my vote! Come to the bakery in about thirty minutes and I’ll be ready to start your party, ok?”
“Hmm, sounds like a plan Pinkie!”
“Great, I’ll see you their!” and with that, she hopped off! People stopped looking at Axel weirdly and just smiled as he passed by them. As he walked, he thought to himself “this actually isn’t that bad. Sure it’s a little girly, but… are they sure they sent me to the right place???”
he walked up to a pony with a purple mane and asked her what this place was called. She turned around and looked quite startled.
“Oh, um… hello, um you mean the town or the land?”
She had a sparkly tattooed flank and was carrying a book in her bag.
“I would like to know what the land is called, please.”
“Well, this is Equestria… how do you not know that?”
“oh, don’t worry about it. The name’s Axel.”
“Oh, well, nice to meet you Axel. You sure are a frightening looking character.”
“Well… hmm. Sorry, I guess I need to work on my image around here. Don’t get me wrong, I notice how everyone here is so nice looking, and I’m more of a warrior type, but really, deep down, I’m just as kind as any… uh, pony.”
“Well, I’m Twilight Sparkle, and if I know one thing about this town, new comers usually meet Pinkie Pie first! So with that in mind, I’m assuming you met her.”
“She’s the one with the balloon things on her flank, right?”
“… um, you mean her cutie mark?”
“Oh, yeah, Sorry, long trip and all made my mind a little forgetful…”
“Well, in any case, I guess I’ll see you at the party.”
“Ok, see you around twilight.”
As she walked off, Axel smiled to himself thinking “this will be the easiest punishment I’ve ever gotten!”
my little...AXEL???- part 3: Axel's new friends
Axel had been wandering around Ponyville for twenty five minutes. After a while, he decided to head to the bakery. It was an easy to spot place considering every pony was entering into its doors. “That must be the place.” He wandered up and every pony began to smile at him as they noticed his presence. As he went inside he saw the banner that marked who the party was for. It said welcome to Ponyville Axel! he smiled as he entered. The place was filled with streamers and balloons and confetti. Cupcakes, muffins, and an assortment of sweets could be found on any table you walked up to. Axel spotted Pinkie over by the punch bowl. Axel casually walked up to her and said hello.
“Hey Pinks.”
“Oh, Axel, there you are! So, what do you think? Isn’t it just great, I told you it would be great, didn’t I? Every pony here would like to welcome you to our amazing town!”
Twilight walked up with another friend that Axel hadn’t met yet.
“Hey Axel, this is Rainbow Dash! She’s a really good friend of mine, and she would like to say hello.”
“Hey, I’m Rainbow Dash! And I’m Equestria’s fastest flyer! But I’m not just a flyer, oh no! I can create a sonic rainboom!”
“Well, that sounds interesting; you’ll have to show me sometime. My name is Axel. Got it memorized?”
“What’s that, your catchphrase?
“You could say that. so... what kind of games are there to play?
Pinkie said “there’s pin the tail on the pony, and apple bobbing, and”
Axel interrupted and asked “any serious games?”
Twilight could tell that simple filly games weren’t going to impress Axel any time soon.
“Well, we could have a race!”
Axel’s eyes seemed to light up at the sound of that. He liked racing, and he had a bit of an urge to see just how fast Rainbow Dash really was.
“That sounds perfect! A race will definitely do the trick!” he said smiling at Rainbow Dash. She was smiling back at him to let him know who the better pony of the party was!
They all met outside. The contenders were Axel, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and an orange pony that Axel didn’t recognize. She took off her hat and looked at Axel with a smirk.
“Now don’t get too excited” the orange pony said “it’s just a game, and welcome to Ponyville!”
Axel said “thanks, and what your name is?”
“I’m Apple Jack, and you?
“My name is Axel.”
The race was fun. Axel was able to keep up with Rainbow Dash, which is until her stamina word down. It was just him and the finish line! He had it in the bag, until Apple Jack ran by him so fast that he didn’t know what happened until the race was over! Apple Jack came in first, then Axel, followed by Rainbow Dash, and finally Pinkie Pie who had taken her sweet time hopping her way through the race!
“Aw man, I lost” Rainbow Dash said with a pout.
A sweet and gentle voice was heard behind the contenders. “Aw, don’t be mad Rainbow, you still came in third.” A butter yellow Pegasus had walked up to where Rainbow Dash and Axel were standing.
“Hi, I’m Fluttershy, Nice to meet you.”
“nice to... wait. Flutter...shy ? aren’t you scared?”
"Oh, no. I know your friends with Rainbow Dash, so I have nothing to be afraid of.”
“That’s cool, my names Axel.”
“It’s very nice to meet you.”
A fashionable pony came up to the group and explained about how she saw the whole race.
“I mean you were right there to, but I’m not surprised that Apple Jack won. She does have a knack for doing that sort of thing.”
Rainbow Dash introduced her as Rarity.
“It’s a Pleasure to meet you Mr. umm...”
“Oh, I’m Axel.”
“Well, Axel, you sure do have an interesting mane! But it could use some work you know.”
“And what do you propose, Madame?”
“Well, get a haircut, and let me design some clothing for you.”
“I think I’ll pass on that.”
They all had a good laugh. Apparently, the six ponies all knew each other and were very good friends. Later that night, they all went to a hill to sit and watch the moon rise. Axel didn’t understand why, and Twilight explained.
“You see, the sun and the moon are controlled by two princesses. Princess Celestia controls the sun, and Princess Luna controls the moon. About a year ago, Princess Luna arrived and was going to force the world into an eternity of darkness by keeping the moon up! At this time, she wasn’t herself. And we had to stop her using the elements of harmony. We had just met, but our friendship was strong. And now, were friends as well. All of us, and you, Axel; were all friends. Our hearts are connected, and no matter where we are, we know we can find each other someday. If there is one thing I’ve learned about friendship, it’s that it’s magic! Nothing can keep up apart!”
Axel thought a bit at this. “Our hearts are connected, but I don’t have a… heart. Does it have to matter that my heart isn’t with me for it to be connected to my friends?”
As the moon rose towards the sky, Axel’s new friends were all huddled around him. They all marveled at the miracle of Princess Luna. Then, Axel felt a presence coming rather quickly from behind him! He stood up and turned to face a shining unicorn Pegasus!
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight yelled. “What are you doing here?”
“Get back from that pony!” the princess commanded. “All of you get away from him now!”
They all did as they were told. Axel was confused. Had his cover been blown, and if it was, how did she know who he really was?
“I’d recognize your dark scent anywhere, Nobody!”
Pinkie Pie argued that he was their friend!
“This is not your friend! He has no heart!” the princess said.
Rainbow dash stepped up to complain! "He does to have a heart! He’s shown that time and time again!”
Axel shot down that theory himself.
“No, I don’t have a heart...”
Fluttershy asked what he meant.
“I’m sorry, but… I’m a Nobody.
“No you’re not” Apple Jack said “you’re not a Nobody, whatever that is. You’re our friend!”
The princess then explained what a Nobody truly was.
“When a being gives into the darkness within their heart, a heartless is made, but we have none of those here, because there is no darkness where we live. When a strong heart is stolen by the darkness the empty shell that is left behind then begins to act with a will of its own. I’m sorry, but Nobodies do no truly exist at all! They have no heart, and so they have no emotion. They cannot feel sorry or happy, and because of this they cannot truly have any friends either!”
They all asked Axel if this is all true.
“Yea, every last word is true. I’d like to say I’m sorry, but then… I don’t have a heart to feel sorry with.”
After he said that, a magical square prison created by the princess formed around Axel. He did not try to break free. All he could do was look sorry for him.
“I’m taking Axel to Canterlot for interrogations” the princess said.
The main six all pleated for her to let Axel go, but their cries fell on deaf ears. Axel and the princess vanished before the ponies eyes.
the princess of the key blade
my little... AXEL???- part 4: the princess of the key blade
Axel found himself in a big square ball room. It resembles the one found in the beast’s castle. Princess Celestia was standing at the far side of the room staring tentatively at the Nobody.
“You can’t escape. I’ve used my magic to barricade every inch of this room. Now then, why are you here, and how did you arrive in this world?”
Axel, being the self-arrogant person he is said “why don’t you answer my questions first? How did you know I was a Nobody?”
“I could smell the darkness in your mane! I picked it up as soon as you arrived in this world. We sealed off all gummi roads leading to this world to prevent you from coming here. Now explain to me everything!”
Axel, sitting on the floor, decided to confess. What else was he to do? Fight? He had no magic or weapons.
“I am a member of organization 13. I was sent here because I didn’t fill out my responsibilities I was supposed to do.”
“And that would be what?”
“I was supposed to capture Roxas, but I didn’t.”
“You mean the key blade master?”
“Huh… how do you know that?”
“I can see glimpses of the future, and I see him now. He is in a mansion in a world known as twilight town!”
“So, what do you plan to do with me? Make me fade away?”
“No, I wish to test your skills. My magic if far more powerful that than the leader of your group, and I can make it appear that your magic and weapons are not being used, that way, you can fight me!”
“I don’t want to. All I want to do is… to see my friends.
“You mean the members of the organization?”
“… I mean MY FRIENDS!”
This surprised the princess. Even though Axel did not have a heart, he still knew who his friends were!
“I WANT TO SEE PINKIE, AND RAINBOW DASH! I want to see FLUTTERSHY, RARITY, APPLE JACK, AND TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!”
“An interesting display of acting out rage, Axel… If I didn’t know any better… oh, there’s an idea… do you wish to truly feel rage, the emotion that you exhibit here and now? Very well then, I shall grant you your wish!”
Axel felt heat buildup in his chest! His chakras came out of nowhere! He caught one in his mouth and the other one with his tail! Flames engulfed the room in one big circle as he felt rage, true rage! Memories surfaced in Axels mind of when he was mad at Isa, his old friend. The rage was so strong, and so real! The princess stood there enjoying every minute of it.
“Now we shall see if you have what it takes to become what the organization stole from you before you could even obtain it!”
“SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!”
His chakras went flying at the princess, when out from behind her, a key blade was summoned! It resembles her style in every way, shining in the fire! Axel struck the princess with everything he had! But it was no use. She just swatted his weapons away! Finally Axel landed on his feet, and failed to keep composure. He kneeled and found himself unable to feel the rage in his body anymore. The princess stood over him, magically wielding her key blade. She dismissed it and smiled.
“I don’t need your sympathy. I don’t need your rage.”
"If you don’t accept it, you will die by your friend, Roxas’s blade.”
“I was so close to getting that weapon. When I had a heart, it was in my hands, I could feel it. Then, I don’t know what happened… I guess, I fell into darkness… you say ill fade away if I don’t accept your spell to give me rage?”
“When you return to your world, where ever it may be, you will be instructed to go to traverse town to get roxas. If you confront him without the spell I am offering to you, which you can only use once for a short period of time, you will fade away by his blade.”
“… fine, I see how It is. I’ll use it.”
Just then, the main six came barging into the room. The barrier was lowered as soon as the fight ended. They all gathered around their weakened friend, Axel. Twilight sparkle asked Princess Celestia why she did what she did.
“It was to teach him about his former self, and so that I could give him a gift. I am sorry for hurting him, but you must understand why it had to be done.”
Axel, now with enough energy to stand, got up to his feet and said “don’t blame her. She helped me remember something deep within myself. She is the best princess any pony could ask for.”
Axel thanked the princess for her help and was teleported to Ponyville with his friends.
They arrived at twilight’s house. The main six looked at Axel with a smile, but he could not bring himself to return the expression.
“I’m sorry” he started. “That is, I guess, I would be sorry if I had a heart. You six are some of the best friends I could ask for. Tomorrow morning, I have to say goodbye, but I’ll try to drop by from time to time to say hello.”
The main six crowded around Axel to give him one big group hug. Afterword’s, Twilight led him into her tree house, seeing as how she was the only one with an extra bed. In the morning, Axel said his goodbyes to his friends and proceeded to head to his own home world that never was.
Later in the story...
"Simply amazing, Roxas"
"Axel"
"You really do remember me this time..."
The spell that the princess gave to Axel was cast, and rage poured into his veins once more!
"I'm so FLATTERED!"
Flames lit up the room and Axel found himself shaking with rage!
"But you too LATE!"
Roxas summoned not just one, but TWO key blades!
"two" Axel said to himself. in his thoughts, he knew that without his rage, he wouldn't be able to face Roxas when he had two key blades.
And so, the battle of two good friends began, and at the end of the battle, Axel knew he and Roxas would find each other once more, just as he would find his pony friends in Equestria, because he knew what twilight meant when she said friendship is magic!
