I own nothing, not the characters, the space where this story exists, or even the eyes that you are using to read it. This is for entertainment purposes only, no money involved.

Nothingness. Endless nothingness. Darkness so vast that it consumed even the memories of light's existence. Axel couldn't tell how long he had been in this abyss that put even the World that Never Was to shame, though it couldn't have been that long, since his mind was still intact. It seemed like a fitting enough place for his consciousness to end up, after his last sacrifice for the memory of his true friends.

He was a Nobody. A being without a heart. His body was forged from darkness, so it is only natural that it would return to it. The nothingness was the true nature of a Nobody. They were nothing. They should have never even existed to begin with. After all, what was the point in existing, when you didn't have a heart.

But even so, Axel was glad that he had existed. Because there had been times when he believed that he really 'felt' happy. The times on top of the clock-tower with his two best friends, Roxas, and Xion. Those summer days, joking about the worlds, complaining about their annoying boss, and eating their favorite Sea Salt Ice Cream.

If only the worlds would have let those times go on forever. He won't have even cared about finishing Kingdom Heart and gaining a true heart of his own. Because being with Roxas and Xion, he had felt like he did have a heart. Unfortunately the worlds couldn't just let them be happy. Nobodies didn't have the right to be happy, and so Axel lost them. He lost the only people he cared about.

He had tried to get them back, but in the end, he failed there too. Sora was the good guy, so he won and got to keep on walking around, being real. Not having to care about the Nobodies who lost their lives so that he could have his life back.

These thoughts were the only things keeping him company now. Even without a body or heart, he still had his memories, and they were still wanting. They wanted for everything that he had lost. And he would do anything to get it back.

"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant..." A voice echoed in the darkness. Axel's consciousness could feel the familiar tug of magic. The words didn't seem to fit him at all, but he knew what was going on. It was a summons. A chance to get out of the endless world of darkness. And he grabbed onto it. "...heed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear."

No one had expected anything when Louise the Zero went up to cast her Summon Servant spell. They all knew there would be an explosion like always, but no one thought that she would be able to summon anything. After all, the little pink haired girl had never managed to do anything right in her life, so what would now be any different.

She stood in front of the rest of them, wearing the same school uniform as the rest of them, a white dress shirt and black skirt with her black noble's cape tied with a circle with a symbol of the five pointed star on it. She took one final gulp of air, praying for look before she raised her wand and began to chant. "My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear." She said, a small magical wind causing her long wavy pink hair to flow back.

Sure enough, there was a large explosion that pushed most of the audience back. "Just as you would expect from Louise the Zero!" Guiche de Gramont shouted in frustration at having to be in front of yet another one of Louise's explosion.

Guiche was a blond haired noble who tried to stretch the limits of the dress code at the magical institute, with a more flamboyant shirt that showed off his chest and really tight pants, in order to make himself more appealing to the ladies. Though in true it just made him look like a prick.

Noticing the lack of chiming in from his company, he looked down at another blond haired noble, only this one was a girl with long cruelly hair that stretched all the way down her back. She was staring wide eyed into the dust that was kicked up by the explosion. "What is it my Montmorency?" Guiche asked the noble girl.

Montmorency didn't say anything. She just lifted a finger, pointing into the smoke. There was a figure standing in the dust, hard to make out through all the dirt that was kicked up by the explosion.

"Well, looks like I got to have a really flashy entrance." The figure said in rather cocky voice. The dust settled a bit more to reveal a man with wild, spiky red hair that feel down past his shoulders. He was dressed in a pitch black hooded rob with silver chains and zipper holding it closed, as well as black boots and gloves.

His piercing green eyes swept over the gathered students, as if judging each and every one of them, weighing their value, and if his cocky expression was anything to judge by, he wasn't impressed. He looked like some kind of mobster, with his dark outfit and the clown like tattoos underneath his eyes, like upside down purple tears. And an aura of danger emanated from him, as if he was more than prepared to strike the lot of them down.

A almost spell like silence had gripped the group of students since the man had first spoke, but eventual someone did say something.

"Is that a commoner?" Several dozen voices echoed similar questions. "Louise actually summoner a peasant as a familiar."

But the whispers stopped as the man began to laugh. It was a hollow and wicked sound, as if there was no heart in it. "Commoner? I'm as uncommon as they come." The man said with a grin, pointing a finger at his own chest. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" He said, tapping the side of his head for effect.

"Who does he think he is?" "Is he some kind of clown?" "Clowns don't dress like that." "He isn't very funny either." The whispers started up again, not that Axel really cared.

His eyes were more focused on the other familiars that had already been summoned. They were an interesting lot, at the very least, ranging from the normal cats and dogs to the fantastical small dragons, giant moles and some flouting eyeball thing. But the thing that annoyed Alex, was that none of them were Nobodies. "It looks like I'm the only one here." He mumbled to himself.

Louise stared at the man standing before her. "This is supposed to be my divine, beautiful, wise, and powerful familiar?" She said weakly, her eyebrow twitching in frustration. "He's just a peasant."

"Exactly what you would expect from someone who boasted like you did, to think you actually summoned up a peasant." Kirche Augusta Frederica Von Anhalt Zerbst, a bronze skinned red haired woman mocked Louise, causing her fellow class mates to laugh as well.

"Louise the Zero, she always seems to live up to expectations." Malicorne de Grandpré, a rather chubby blond noble brat added as they all laughed at Louise's expense.

"Shut up!" Louise shouted angrily as she listened to their humiliating laughter. She turned to Professor Colbert, the balding instructor who had been overseeing the summoning rituals. "Please, just let me try the ritual again! I'm sure I'll get it right this time!" She begged frantically.

"Absolutely not." Professor Colbert said shaking his head, almost seeming disturbed that his student would even think about requesting such a thing. "The Familiar ritual is a sacred passage. To simply do it over would be an act of blasphemy against our founder himself." He said with a level of finality. "This man is your familiar, Ms. Vallière."

Axel listened intently to their short debate. Some how they had preformed a ritual that had bright him back, even after he had faded into the nothingness. Such a thing should have been impossible. But if he could be reclaimed, what was to say that other couldn't be as well. Could he really call out to his friend? Could he be reunited with Roxas and Xion? He would have to get his hands on the knowledge about the ritual.

"But I've never heard of anyone using a human as a familiar before!" Louise protested, earning more laughter from her classmates.

"Regardless, he had answered your summons, so he is your familiar." Professor Colbert said. "Now complete the ritual, or I will be forced to expel you."

"No way." Louise said, in horror as the other students cheered. She flushed angrily but looked over at the red haired man who stood in the middle of the dead spot of grass that had been cleared by his explosive entrance. He had a smug look on his face as he looked down at her. "You should feel honored. A person of noble birth would usual never do something like this for a commoner." She growled at him as she stomped up to him.

But then she realized she had to tilt her had back just to still see his face. She barely came up to his chest. "Hey! Kneel, so I can finish the contract!" She demanded.

Axel grinned, reached out, placing one hand on her forehead and pushed the pink haired girl over to fall on her but. "Not going to happen." He said with a rather empty chuckle.

"What!?" Louise shouted angrily.

"Look at that, even the commoner doesn't want to be the Zero's familiar!" Someone laughed. But Axel wasn't paying any attention to them. He just grinned down at the little girl.

"I hard what that old man said. If you can't make me your familiar, than you get expelled." He said smugly. Louise's eyes widened. "So if you want to stick around, you are going to have to do something for me."

"You... you're black mailing me!" Louise squealed. "But I am a noble!"

"Hey now, I'm just laying the cards out on the table. Don't get mad at me just because you don't like what I have in my hand." Axel said shrugging. "So you need me as a familiar in order to remain a student at this... school." Axel said looking around at the castle that surrounded them. "So tell me, what's in it for me?"

"What's in if for... I summoned you! So you're my familiar!" Louise shouted. She couldn't believe that this man was trying to bargain with the girl's own future at stake.

"Sorry if you are expecting me to do it out of gratitude. Nobodies like me don't exactly feel those kinds of things." Axel said, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

"It is an honor to be a noble's familiar!" Louise tried.

"I care about honor even less than I do about gratitude." Axel said, rolling his eyes at the girl's display. "Tell me what you are going to do for me, if I become your familiar."

"Why should I need to pay you!?" Louise demanded back, seeming to think that Axel was holding out for wages. "The familiar serves its master and in turn the master looks after the familiar."

"So food and shelter, huh?" Axel said, scratching his chin. "Its a start I suppose." Louise blinked in surprise. Was the man's freedom really that cheep? If so, why was he making such a big deal out of this? "But I want just one more thing." Axel said with a grin that sent a shiver up Louise's spin.

"What?" Louise asked, almost afraid of the answer. She covered her small body with her arms, just incase that was what the man was after. He did kind of look like a rapist.

"I want access to all the book this school has on the magic that brought me here." He said with a confident grin. Louise blinked again, her mouth falling open. This man was just a commoner. He couldn't use magic, so why was he interested in the summoning ritual.

"I... I don't know if I can do that." Louise mumbled looking to Professor Colbert. The professor nodded his approval. "Alright then. You have a deal... Familiar." Louise said, trying to keep the indignation out of her voice.

"I thought I already said my name was Axel. Don't tell me you forgot it already." Axel said with his cocky smile. But he went down on one knee.

The laughter of the other students started up again. They had been watching the drama unfold in silence, taking pleasure in seeing Louise squirm, but now they were louder than ever.

Louise glared at them all but she again stepped up to the man she summoned. She pulled out her wand and pointed it straight at the man. "My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar." She said. Then she lowered her wand and leaned forward, kissing Axel on the lips.

The Nobody was a little confused by the action, but he didn't think much of it. The girl leaned back after a second, looking completely humiliated, a look that Axel actually enjoyed seeing. "It's done." She grumbled.

Axel winced in reaction to physical pain that pushed through his body. Steam poured out of his body as he stood their with clenched teeth. It was not like any fire that Axel had ever experienced. It was purer some how, and underneath his skin. The feeling intensified around his chest. It was as if Axel was having his skin cut open by his own Eternal Flames. "What's... happening?" Axel stammered, pressing down his reactions to the pain. It wasn't so bad that he couldn't endure it.

"Your familiar runes are being engraved into you. It won't take long." Louise said. She looked a little too happy about Axel's suffering for the Nobody's liking. She was more than glad to see the one who had publicly humiliated her twitching in pain.

Axel grabbed the zipper on his coat and pulled it down to reveal his bare chest. Confirming three things for the nobles. First, that he didn't wear a shirt underneath that coat. Second, that his chest was smooth and free of hair, as if waxed and that he was heavily muscled, despite his narrow build. And finally, that the runes of a familiar were being burned into his chest. Glowing a bright and angry red before fading into a heavy brown that showed clear against the man's peachy skin.

Axel panted slightly as the process stopped before grinning at the professor. "You satisfied?" He said with his cocky grin. The professor didn't replay. He was staring at the runes with wide eyes. "Um... getting a little close there, doc." Axel said, a little confused at the professor's fascination as he inched closer to Axel's chest, staring at the runes from just inches away.

"What?" Colbert said, coming out of whatever trance he had been in. "Oh, yes, very good. Though I must admit I have never seen that particular combination of runes before." he said before coughing into his hand. "Alright, now that everyone is finished, you are all free to return to your rooms. I encourage you to spend this time to get to know your familiar's better."

The crowd started to disperse and returned to their dorm rooms. Axel walked up to the little pink haired girl. "So, where to?" He asked.

Louise glared at him. "Follow me." She said, still mad about being threatened. She turned and started back to her dorm room. But she did grin to herself. Now that the familiar runes were in place, that attitude wouldn't last too much longer.

Even if she had wanted a more impressive familiar, she could still take some satiation in breaking this rebellious peasant.

"I can't believe I am stuck with a filthy commoner as a familiar." Louise growled as she sat down on the edge of her bed and crossed her legs. She glared up at Axel who was standing in front of her in an unassuming manner, he lifted one arm to his noise and took a short sniff. He didn't smell that bad. "I wanted something cool, like a griffin, or a dragon. Something that I could rub in Kirche's..." The pink haired mage whined, seeming to hate Axel's mere exitance.

Not that the Nobody really cared. He waited patiently for the girl to just get it out of her system. After all, Nobodies were used to being treated as less than worthless. Creature's that should have never existed in the first place. So Axel was far to used to it to have his feelings hurt. Even if he had feelings to hurt.

Once the girl had stopped to take a breather, Axel took the chance to speak. "So when are you going to get me those books on the summoning ritual?" Axel asked, his vivid green eyes never leaving the girl's face.

"Don't take such a familiar tone with me! You are just a familiar, and you will address me as Master!" She barked angrily.

"And here I thought a familiar should use a familiar tone." Axel joked casual as ever. "Fine, 'Master', when are you going to get me those books on the summoning ritual?"

Louise glared at the flame haired man. "You are over stepping your bonds, Familiar. But if you must know, we cannot get them until tomorrow at the earliest." She spat. "Why do you even care. A commoner like you can't even do magic."

"Alright then, I can wait." Axel nodded, ignoring the second half of her statement. He could be patient. Patients was one of the few virtues a Nobody could possess. "So, where am I to sleep?" He asked.

"Over there." Louise said, pointing at a pill of hay in the corner of the room.

Axel glanced over at it and nodded. "It's functional." He said calmly. He wasn't surprised at the being treated like an animal. She had been expecting to summon an animal anyways.

When Axel looked back he had to blink twice to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. Louise had started taking off her clothes and was changing into a nightgown. Axel only raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like he was going to get embarrassed over the entire thing. He had helped tend to Xion when she was in a coma, and Louise was even flatter than the she had been. Not as cute too, and with a horrible attitude.

But the fact that the girl clearly didn't see him as enough of a person to even bother with basic decency was just a bit more insulting than the usual brand of dehumanization that Nobodies had to endure.

Then to add further insult, the girl threw the clothes at Axel's face, her panties getting caught up in his spiky hair. "I want you to have those washed before tomorrow, and make sure to put out a set out clothes for me tomorrow morning." She demanded as she climbed into bed. "And those ones too." She added, pointing to a basket in a corner of the room beside her cabinet.

"As you wish, my Master." Axel said, bowing slightly before taking the dirty clothes and heading for the door.

Louise grinned, he hadn't even tried to disobey her. The familiar runes had already done their job. And she wouldn't have any more incidents like the summoning ceremony again. Though she still would have preferred a proper familiar. She would still be able to go to the school.

She had no intention of actually letting her familiar study up on the summoning ritual, but she didn't have to tell him that. He would forget all about it soon enough. And if not, she could just order him not to, and he would obey.

As Axel walked down the stairs he glared down at the laundry in his arms. Like hell would he be doing the girl's chores for her. He would just refold them and tell her he washed them. The stupid brat probably wouldn't even be able to tell the difference for the first few weeks, and by then Axel would have learned everything he had needed to and would be long gone.

'No, you want Louise to be your master.'

Axel could only scoff at the runes weak attempts to rewrite him mind and change him. Trying to convince him that it was his own will to serve that pink haired girl. Trying to erase his memories of who he was before he had entered into the contract.

It was pathetic when compared to the power of Castle Oblivion, whose magic could alter reality itself round the memories, even as it changed them. And Axel had spent nearly a month in that stupid castle.

He had gained a resistance to attacks on his memories, and no one could change them, his mind was simply too strong. And no one in there right mind would even actually enjoy being treated like dirt by a bratty self-entitled little bitch like Louise. But Axel was perfectly fine with being given an order that would place him exactly where he wanted to be; around servants.

Axel didn't want to admit to Louise just how little he knew about this world he was in, and even if he had asked her, he would have only been given a description from the point of view of a sheltered little girl. So the Nobody of fire would find someone who would be able to give him a much better picture.

Axel had been to many worlds, and in those worlds he had done horrible things; stealing sacred artifacts, inciting wars, and killing key political figures from the shadows. All in order to drive the citizens to panic and despair so that they would produce more Heartless and Nobodies to further the Organization's plans. Not that he really regretted any of that stuff. But in his time spent undermining world after world, he had found that the best places to gather information on the world itself so that he could create the most chaos, was by visiting pubs or speaking with the servants of the high nobles. That way he could get a good feel for how the world and its people worked.

Axel hadn't been walking long before he spotted what he was looking for. A young girl who looked around sixteen year of age, dressed in a French maid outfit and carrying a basket full of sheets to be laundered. "Jack pot." Axel said with a grin. A young gossiping maid who would more than likely be charmed easily by simple magic to tell him anything he wanted to now, if needed.

"Excuse me miss." Axel said with his most charming smile. The maid turned to him, but finding that she was only staring at a man's chest she arched her head back to look up at the red haired man.

The girl turned bright red and Axel could practically feel the heat coming off of her. He knew he had this kind of effect on human woman. But it was always strange to see it in action. "Um... how... how kind I help you Meister..."

Axel gave a small chuckle. "It's Axel. And you don't need to worry about formalities. Just Axel is find by me." He said giving the girl a wink. Oddly enough for beings who didn't have hearts of their own, Nobodies were extremely talented at manipulating the hearts of others. Or maybe Axel was just well practiced. Either way, the girl's knees didn't look too steady. "How about your name?"

"I'm... I'm Fiesta... I mean Siesta!" She said, quickly correcting herself. Man, she was stumbling with her own name. The girl had shoulder length black hair and black eyes that went well with the maid look. Not that it really mattered to Axel.

"Siesta? Now that's a pretty name." Axel said, nodding. "Well Siesta, I'm new around here and I am afraid that I don't know where I am supposed to go to do my Master's laundry." Axel said, shaking his head and showing the basket. "I would go and ask her, but that would be so improper of me."

"Oh, you're the familiar that Ms. Vallière summoned!" The maid said in surprise.

Axel gave another small chuckle. "I didn't realize I was famous around here already." This was good, he didn't have to explain his situation as much.

"It's all anyone has been talking about." Siesta admitted weakly, rubbing her shoes together. The girl's face was still as bright red as a tomato. "No one had ever heard of a human being summoned as a familiar before."

"Yes, it really is a sad fate." Axel said with a tired sigh. This sudden confession of weakness snapped the girl out of her embarrassed state and further drew her in. "I was called away from all the people I care for in order to be a slave. I can only hope that my little brother and sister are still alright. It had been hard enough on them with our parents dead."

"Oh..." Siesta mumbled, a hand going to her chest as a pained expression crossed her face.

Axel pretended to be surprised by her reaction. "Don't feel bad. It isn't like any of this is your fault." He said with an reassuring smile. "But I really do want to find a way to get back to them... somehow." He said in a longing voice. His mind wonder to those times spent up on the clock tower with Roxas and Xion. Those happy times.

To Axel's surprise, a sharp pain throbbed inside of his chest. Were the runes trying to punish him for not obeying Louise's orders? No. Axel couldn't sense any magic in the pain. So what was it?

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Siesta asked, bringing Axel out of his confused state.

Axel shook his head to clear his mind before giving the girl a sad smile. "You are very kind to offer, but I honestly don't know." He said weakly. "I don't even know where I am right now. Neither my master or any of the other nobles would tell me."

"We're at the Tristain Academy of Magic, located near the boarder between Tristain and Germania." Siesta said, hoping to be able to help in any way she could.

"Tristain..." Axel said slowly looking confused. He shook his had sadly. "I must have been spirited away further than I thought. I've never heard of this country before."

Siesta blinked in surprise. "What? But Tristain is one of the oldest country in all of Halkeginia."

"Then I must really be a hopeless case here." Axel said miserably. "How am I supposed to survive here, when I don't have a clue how this country works. I don't even understand all this nobility versus commoners stuff, or how the government or politics work. I don't even now what a familiar even is." He said, adding a long sigh. "I only hope that I don't mess anything up too badly."

"I... I could help you!" Siesta quickly volunteered. Axel had to suppress a victorious smirk. "I can explain everything while we do the laundry. Just follow me, and I'll lead you to where we keep the cleaning supplies." Axel's eye twitched slightly. Looks like he was going to end up doing Louise's laundry anyways. Oh well, it was a small price to pay. Wasn't like a Nobody like him had any dignity to worry about.

"Well then, I will follow your lead, fair lady Siesta." Axel said, giving a bow and a charming smile in order to insure the girl remained convinced of his act. Siesta's blush returned full force as she nodded silently and turned stiffly on her heels to lead Axel to the cleaning supplies.

Axel smiled as he followed right behind her. She was so willing and ready to help him, even though she would get nothing in return. She was innocent. Not nieve like Louise, but rather untainted by darkness. Kind of like how Namina had been. She knew the darkness better than anyone Axel had ever met, but she still had a certain purity about her.

Axel felt the sharp pain in his chest again, his hand moving up to it. A spot on the left side of his chest. What was that feeling?

It didn't matter. His path was set. And he was a Nobody. He had no heart to feel regret with. Deception was his nature.

Axel had never known just how tedious doing laundry was. He mimicked Siesta's actions to the best of his abilities, but he realized quickly that if he put too much strength behind it he would simply rip the clothing to pieces. Oh well, it wasn't like Louise would notice if one of her tops suddenly went missing.

"So, what can you tell me about how everything works around here?" Axel asked after a few moments of working in silence.

"Well... I suppose the best place to start would be what a familiar is." Siesta said thoughtfully. "A familiar is a being summoned by a mage in order to act as a sort of servant and life long partner." Siesta explained. "Though since most are animal, this usually just means that they are like pets that the nobles display in order to boast about their element. Actually I have never heard of a human being summoned before."

"Seriously? That was the point of the summons?" Axel said, just a little surprised. He had assumed that he was going to be used as a sort of tool for battle, not as a glorified house dog. Not that it really mattered either way. He had no intention of doing anything that Louise ordered him to in the future. Not unless she could make it worth his time.

"Yes, each year there is a ceremony where the second year students summon their first familiars. It is a tradition that dates back nearly six thousand years. Back to the time of the Founder." Siesta said. Axel was rather impressed. Six thousand years was a long time. Hell he was only around four years old and he had seen witness more than one fall of a kingdom. But just because the magic was old, doesn't mean it was powerful.

"So, this is a magic academy?" Axel asked, trying to steer the conversation along. "Have you managed to pick up any magic while working here?"

Siesta looked surprised that Axel would even ask such a question. It was enough to conferm what Axel had already expected, even before the girl said it. "Oh no. Only the nobility can use magic." She said looking down at the sheets she was laundering. "Everyone who can't use magic... we're just commoners. And the nobles rule over us."

"I see... just how much power do the nobles have over us? What is the limit to what they are allowed to do?" Axel asked. He didn't really see anything particularly surprising or even wrong about the system. After all, the Organization used a similar set up. Though who had true power were at the top, the thirteen seats of the Organization, and they commanded the rest of the Nobodies. Enforcing their will on the weaker beings.

"They can pretty much make us do anything they want. No one would stop them." Siesta said sadly. "Though there are laws that were set up to protect the peasantry, almost none of the nobles obey them, and they are so lax, that even if a nobleman killed a commoner, they are not likely to get more than a slap on the wrist, if they even get that much."

"I see." Axel said, nodding. And he did see. He had seen stuff like it before, and had taken advantage of those situations to insight mass chaos. Give the commoners a little darkness and explain to them that they could attract Heartless to help them fight, giving the powerless power, and they were soon consumed by it. It was a fairly quick why to destroy an entire world. And it hardly took any effort at all. Though that wasn't Axel's objective anymore. "I guess I will need to be extra careful not to give them a reason to want to do anything bad to me then." Axel said giving the girl a charming smile. "Thank you for telling me all this. You've been a great help."

"Y...you're welcome." Siesta said, blushing again as she pushed her black hair out of her face. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Axel."

Axel chuckled. "It's just Axel." Axel stood up and took the half finished laundry with him. He had learned pretty much the basics of how the world functioned, and the details would be gained through more experience.

He was rather curious as to why only some people in this world were able to use magic. Sure the more powerful magic spells that were specific to an individuals nature were not something that were easy to developed, but the basics could be picked up by even someone how was a complete incompetent in it, with no talent what so ever.

So there must have been something about the magic in this world that made it different than the magic he practiced. This would have to be the first thing Axel would have to research. The first clue on how he was brought back from the nothingness, and how he could get his friends back.

Once he got back to Louise's room he found the small 'master' already asleep in her bed. Well, at least he wouldn't have to listen to her bitch anymore until the next morning. Axel weighed the option of simply killing the girl so he wouldn't have to deal with her, but that might make it more difficult to get what he was after. So even though she was a royal pain, she would get to live for a while longer. Who knows, maybe after everything was over, he wouldn't even have a good enough reason to expend the energy needed to kill her, if she was lucky.

But for now he would just have to work towards his objective, and for that, a connection to a school for this world's magic could come in handy. Especially since she had a stack of textbook on the basics of magic.

Axel grinned to himself as he grabbed the book. 'A Beginner's Guild from Dot to Line Magic', Axel had no idea what that meant, but if it was a beginner's guild, then it would be a good start.

He turned away from Louise's desk, book in hand and summoned a Corridor of Darkness. A pool of dark magic that could be used to connect between any two points, even in between worlds. Though to going from world to world took a bit more energy, and Axel had no intention of leaving yet. Instead he was just going to the top of the central tower of the academy.

Axel liked high places. Sitting on the ledge, looking out as far as the eye could see before the curve of the world cut off the view. Wind pushing passed your ears, and flowing through your hair. Eating ice cream as you laughed with your friends... Axel winced as his chest stung again. Why was that happening? Every time he thought about his old friends, that sensation in his chest returned.

Axel exited the Corridor to find that he was not the only one how had gone to enjoy the open air.

Sitting on a bench near the edge of the roof was a little girl. She was small, only coming up to Axel's waist, and was dressed in the same school uniform as all the other students. If Axel had to guess her age just by appearance, he would have said she was only twelve or thirteen years old, but since she was a student at the school, she had to be the same age as the rest of them. Which would mean she was probably around fifteen or sixteen.

Her hair was a bright sky blue, even lighter than Saïx's hair had been. A magic staff that was around six inches taller than she was rest against her shoulder as she read from a small brown book.

But much more surprising was the fifteen foot dragon who's head was resting in the girl's lap. The dragon's scales were a much darker blue as the little girl's hair, more of an ocean blue than a sky, and it seemed to be purring as the girl pet its head lightly.

But as the Corridor of Darkness closed behind him, the dragon seemed to take notice of Axel's presence. It lifted it's head and looked in his direction, with huge turquoise eyes. It made a loud questioning sound as it stared at Axel.

"Who's there?" The girl asked. Her voice was extremely quiet and just a little rough, as if it wasn't used very often. She turned her head and looked straight up at Axel with crystal blue eyes, that caught the Nobody by surprise.

Though he was seeing them from the other side of some red rimmed glass, they looked exactly the same as Xion's eyes from when she was first starting out. The same slightly void yet intelligent expression that locked onto Axel, drinking him in and quietly considering his presence.

After a second Axel managed to get a hold of himself. "Sorry, I didn't realize this roof top was already taken." He said scratching the back of his head, trying to shake of the feeling that was gripping him in his chest. "I was just looking for a quiet spot to do some light reading." Axel said shaking the book in his hand. "I see you had the same idea."

The girl stared at him for a few seconds in complete silence before nodding and turning back to her book. "Join." She said simply.

Axel blinked. The girl didn't seem to be one for words, but he was pretty sure she was inviting him to sit with her and read. "Don't mind if I do." Axel said walking over and sitting down on the opposite side of the bench as the little girl before flipping open the book. "By the way, my name's Axel. Got it memorized?" He said, grinning slightly as he used his catch phrase.

"Tabitha." The girl responded in a flat tone as she returned to her own book.

With two extremely large and bright moons over head, it wasn't difficult to read, even though the sun had gone down. Axel didn't even have to strain his eyes as he skimmed through the pages.

Axel found the magic of this new world to be rather odd. Instead of storing and building up magic within their own bodies, the people of this world would focus their will into instruments like wands or staffs, and then use those to direct the magic in the air.

It had its advantages, such as being able to experiment with new formulations without having to worry about completely destroying the uses body in the process, or continuing to control a spell even after the magic spell is cast. But it also had its set backs. The magic was limited by the amount of energy the wand could amass and the formulations took longer to gather and convert the magic, making for longer cast times and weaker spells.

It also seemed to be limited to just five elements, which Axel found rather curious. As far as Axel was aware their were twelve types of magic, each existing in pairs; fire and ice, water and lightning, earth and air, time and space, light and dark, heart and nothingness. But the book only made not of four types; fire, water, earth and air. Their were methods of achieving the same results, such as summoning a bolt of lightning by using air currents to generate the electricity, but it was just a weak imitation and used up a lot of unnecessary energy. There were spells like Silence that didn't seem to be within that mold, but in the end they were all really just made of those same four elements. Silence just forced the air to be still, making it so that sound couldn't travel.

Though as Axel read more and more he kept coming back to his man question, how did the summoning ritual work? None of these elements could explain it. There had to be more. He could still feel the runes on his chest, and that was clearly Nothingness Magic. It was the only thing that Axel knew of that could erase memories.

"Kuu!" The dragon whined, pushing it head into Axel's lap.

"Hey!" Axel shout in surprise as he suddenly found a giant dragon's head on his legs. He had been up their for a few hours and the dragon seemed to want his attention. "Hey now, I was still reading." Axel complained but the dragon seemed very insistent, pushing its hand further into Axel's chest. "Fine, I get it, you want me to pet you." Axel said with a loud sigh. The dragon was as stubborn as Roxas.

"Sylphid." Tabitha said in that simply way she had and the dragon stop, looking over at the little girl.

"Sylphid. Is that her name?" Axel asked the tiny mage who nodded.

"Late." Tabitha said, closing her book and standing up. Sylphid ran around to the other side of the bench and lowered her head so that Tabitha could easily climb on the dragon's back. "Again tomorrow." Tabitha said, nodding at Axel before Sylphid took to the air.

Axel watched her flying away. He raised one eyebrow. "I think I just got invited to come back sometime." He mused before getting up. It really was getting late, and even Nobodies needed sleep. Hell, Roxas once slept for an entire month.

So Axel called on another Corridor of Darkness to take him back to Louise's room. He placed the book back on her desk before looking over at the small patch of hay. He throw a glare at the little girl who was sleeping soundly in her soft bed but then he just sighed. There was no point in getting upset about it.

So he laid down on the cow feed and tried his best to get comfortable. He was going to need his sleep if he was going to put up with more of Louise's shit tomorrow.

Complete chapter 1