Summary: He had been living a lie all his life it would seem; memories of what never occurred push Roxas into searching for Sora on his own. However, the journey for truth comes with a heavy price.

Warning: Just a note, there are spoilers from Kingdom Hearts II here. So if you haven't played the game yet, GO PLAY -- this might be a tad confusing for you if you don't. Also, pairings may vary.

Author's Note: The plot line here is a little jumbled in contrast to the game, however it is still relative. I just thought Roxas deserved to have a bigger role in the story because he sure as hell didn't get enough screen play in my opinion! -Goes on a rampage-

Anyway, read and enjoy!

Haven of Memories

Chapter One: On the Run

Three Years Ago…

"Sora, you are going to have to choose," said Namine carefully. "You can regain the memories of this castle and lose the ones you've lost forever, or forget about Castle Oblivion and regain your old memories."

Sora looked torn. He didn't want to have to choose between his lost memories and the ones he had now. He looked down at his hands, at the good luck charm Kairi had given him; he missed her so much and more… his heart wanted nothing more than to remember that smile he always loved and those times she stood beside him. But – looking at Namine – he could not deny that his heart held something for her smile too. Oh, what was he going to do? He loved Kairi, and yet… he also cared a lot for this other girl, one whom he was never even supposed to have known, let alone care this deeply about.

"I want… I want to have both… so much," said Sora quietly. He looked up at Namine again. "But I know I can't."

Namine smiled sadly. "That's right," she said softly. "You can't have both."

Sora nodded solemnly, and looked on at Donald and Goofy. They had expressions of both sympathy and sadness; the moment their eyes crossed they immediately looked away, knowing pity was the last thing Sora wanted to see from them.

"Okay," said Sora, gritting his teeth. "I choose…" Donald and Goofy both looked back at him with a new expression of anticipation and anxiety; Namine's eyes were round, and Sora could easily see the hope that was radiating from within them. Sora swallowed, knowing that once he said his decision he would never be able to take it back. He wished dreadfully that Namine wouldn't look at him like that; it was making it a whole lot harder for him to tell her. He let out a breath. "I choose…"

"It's okay," said Namine abruptly. "Just because you won't remember me anymore doesn't mean they were never really there, right Sora?"

Sora looked at her. She was trying to show him that she was fine by smiling, when really… he could see very clearly that she was a little less than okay; she was heartbroken. And what was more painful than that was… he hadn't even said a word what he wanted yet.

"But, uh," said Goofy, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "If we forget you… how will we be able to thank you?"

"I have a solution to that," said a tiny voice. Sora looked at his shoulder, and there was Jiminy Cricket, umbrella on one arm and his journal on the other. "I'll just write a reminder in my journal: thank Namine."

Namine clapped happily. "That's a brilliant idea!" she said. "But chaining back your memories is a year long process; I'll have to put you four into sleep for the time being. Don't worry --" she waggled a finger teasingly at Donald's horrified expression. "—I'll take care of you."

Sora could have sworn he saw Namine look at him briefly after saying this, but by then she was already leading Donald, Goofy and Jiminy to another room.

"What if something should go wrong?" said Donald, skeptically. "After all… you've been screwing around with our memories the moment we got to this stupid castle, and we all know what a mess that made."

"Donald!" Sora snapped.

"What?" said Donald irritably, turning on him now. "It's true. I just want to make sure we end up in one piece is all."

Sora scowled, and took one step toward Donald, ready to pummel him with his bare fists, but as fast as his temper flew the faster it was to disappear. He felt Namine's hand grab his arm, giving it a little tug, telling him to stop and that it was okay. Sora elated (for now), and lowered his fist back to his side.

"Okay," said Namine quickly. "You three better get going. If you want your memories back I have to get to work as soon as possible."

Goofy, Jiminy and a reluctant Donald entered the next room. Silence soon filled in the room, and Sora, suddenly wished the other three didn't leave him alone with Namine. Yeah, sure he did needed to talk with her, but just the idea of it unnerved him.

Namine stood with her back facing toward him, making it tremendously difficult for him to see what expression she may have on her face. Sora bit his lip; he had to speak he knew… but he had no idea how what exactly to tell her. He was afraid of saying something upsetting… after all, this was his last moment with her, and he didn't want to muck it up by saying something stupid. But God… what to say?

I'm sorry? No… that would feel too much like I was feeling sorry for her, when I don't. Namine… I don't want to have to leave you alone… I care about you a lot… but there's Kairi… and I can't just forget about Kairi… I won't. Oh if you only knew how hard this was…

"You don't have to say anything." Namine's voice was clear and strong. She turned around to face him; there was a wide smile on her face, making the room seem that much brighter, and Sora, despite everything, couldn't help but like the look on her. "I knew you'd choose your old memories, Sora… I saw the answer in your eyes the moment I asked you; there was no need for you to say anything." She took a step closer to him so that they were now standing face to face. "I know you'll never be able to remove Kairi from your heart, and asking you to forget about her isn't what I wanted. What I want is for you to be happy, and I know remembering Kairi has always made you happy."

Her smile wavered slightly. She backed away from him, but he was quicker. Sora grabbed her hand and pulled her to a hug.

"I promise… I promise I won't forget you. When I wake up… I'll find you," he told her desperately.

He felt Namine smile against his cheek. "You'll only forget," she said.

Sora shook his head as he looked at her in the face again. "I won't," he said firmly. "I promise I'll find you."

Namine stared at him before smiling. "Okay… it's a promise."

"Like you said right?" said Sora, grinning. "Just because I'll forget them… doesn't mean they were never really there."

"You're right… We'll meet again. Now… go… there should be a pod ready for you."

"A… pod?" said Sora, confused. "You mean like a pea pod or something?" He tried to envision that in his head, but in the end he thought the idea was ludicrous, and he doubt if Riku found him dressed in one he'd ever live it down..

Namine giggled. "No, silly…" she took him by the hand and led him into a spare room, apart from Goofy, Donald and Jiminy. It was a wide room, even wider than the white room he was just in earlier. And there alone was a kind of glass lotus. Sora stared at it blankly. A pod? This was a pod? His idea of it being a pea pod vanished instantly, and he took on a look of pure relief.

Namine noticed and giggled again. "Okay," she said and walked over to a computer that was stationed just right in front of the pod. She hit a couple buttons before the pod opened; exhaust fumes shot out from the edges until it finally settled without another sound. Sora looked even more incredulous, but was obviously impressed. Namine smiled. "It'll be fine. Just hop onto the centre there, and then let me do the rest."

Sora did as he was told. Once inside the casket, Namine typed away again at the keyboards and Sora saw as the pod began to close back shut; the glass cocoon enveloping him and minimizing his surroundings. At last, he heard Namine's voice loud and clear within the sphere.

"Once I make these last adjustments… the process should begin right away," she said.

Sora gave her a thumbs-up, along with a reassuring smile. "Okay, I trust you."

"Sora?" Namine said, her voice becoming soft. "I'll miss you…" He detected a hint of sadness riding along the corners of her voice, but it immediately changed as soon as she smiled again. "But… until then I'll wait for you."

As she typed away, and his vision began losing its focus, he found himself saying softly – whether he knew it or not – "I'll miss you too… Namine…"

And then his vision went black.

Three years later…

"Roxas… Roxas… Roxas… you traitor…"

Roxas bolted like lightning. It was a reaction, like any other one would have after a terrifying nightmare. But… like all reactions, they made horrible after effects. Roxas groaned as an instant headache came to him in a rush. He fell back on the pillows clutching his forehead as though willing it not to explode. On the side was a table, he blindly reached for something – an ice pack, a hammer, an anything – to make this agonizing sensation go away.

He squinted open one eye and was triumphant when he saw just what he needed. Aspirin. It would be his best friend for life if he ever made it through this night alive. He took a couple, popped it into his mouth and then drowned it down with some water. He fell back on the bed, placed a pillow over his eyes, so as to block out whatever light was left in the room (and there already was very little since he'd nailed the curtains onto the wall), and tried to catch some sleep, although quite aware that was nearly impossible now with this roaring headache.

Besides… even if he did manage to fall asleep, he would only wake up again due to another disturbance known as freakish nightmares. It was on nights like these, when it would rain hard like nothing else and the street lights could no longer be seen through the fogs, that he'd have it the worse; they would keep coming after one dream, until he would just quit sleeping that night all together. To make matters simple, Roxas was very cranky.

And what made it worse was… he had dreams of people, of events, of bloody places he'd never even seen before. It was very frustrating, because in the nights he'd awake, gasping for his breath after yet another reoccurring nightmare, he would actually believe that he'd done all those things; that he'd seen and met and talked with all these people and that he'd been to just about every corner of the universe. And nothing pissed off Roxas more than waking up thinking you were somebody else.

Well, this would all be over just as soon as he found Him. Whoever 'he' was… Roxas had never met him before in his life, and he sure as hell was not going to spend the rest of his sorry days dreaming about a total stranger and losing one more night worth of sleep over it, not if he had anything to say about it that is. This was his own mind; it was his and his alone, no one else's; he was going to win that right back.

Suddenly, Roxas heard someone knocking on the door, followed by a droned, "For room 513." Roxas turned around in his position, and pressed the pillows closer toward his ears, so as to filter out that annoying racket; maybe if he didn't answer they'll go away. Apparently, this guy could not take a hint, and when Roxas didn't answer right away, they proceeded to knock, even louder perhaps, much to Roxas's chagrin. It did NOT help matters for his headache at all, which was banging alongside the sound of the knocks, making Roxas feel like his head was being split opened by chain saw.

Okay! I'll get up… Just, please, stop knocking! Roxas kicked off the blankets and rolled off the bed, making his way unsteadily towards the door, where the knocking (kill me now, he thought desperately) was still continuing. He hardly noticed at all that he was clad in only his dark pants, which was falling down his waist and revealing his black boxers underneath, and that he was without a shirt on.

He opened the door, poked his head out, and said, his tone suggesting he was ready to chew the person's head off, "Yeah… yeah… what do you want?"

It was a woman. Blonde hair, typical waitress's outfit with a blue dress and a white apron, along with another typical get up: a bandana. One the right hand side of her apron was a tag that said: Delilah in bold letters; all in all it was someone he was NOT at all. It wasn't his style to beat on women, so incapacitating her ass for making his splitting headache turn steadily into a migraine in thirty seconds flat was no longer an option, but that didn't stop him from still being irritated to the point where he just might decide to incapacitate her ass.

At first she looked startled by his lack of politeness, and then she looked incredibly embarrassed when she saw that he was standing there, half-naked, in front of her. She was quick to look down at her shoes, her cheeks flaming.

"Sorry to… uh… disturb you, sir… but…" She handed him a slip of paper. "You have a call on line 4."

That brought Roxas back to his senses. A call? He thought. The woman known as Delilah refused to meet his eye, but it was more than a little obvious to say that she was still looking at him. However, Roxas was too deep in thought to actually realize this; in fact… he probably wouldn't have realized it anyway.

A call? He thought again, thinking this was the strangest thing. A call from whom? No one knows I'm…here… His inner voice trailed off as realization hit him with a bag of bricks, which would have further aggravated his headache if he wasn't so shocked about the idea in the first place.

Shit… they found me.

Without a word, he dashed back into his room, the door still ajar. He stood in the middle, his mind racing and his headache forgotten (momentarily). If the Organization knew where he was, he would need to get out of here, pronto. He started for the bedside table and threw opened the lid; his hands flew for his possession (which was not a lot): his handy-dandy supply belt, his first aid kit and a sack of munny, and, just because he thought he would need it later on, the bottle of aspirin. He pulled up his pants, fastened it, and threw on his shirt. Over by the other side of the room was the washroom, where he had hung up his trench coat over the tub to dry from the rain. Beneath the bed he found his black combat boots; he slipped them on, tied them tightly and was just about to make his retreat when the phone rang.

Roxas tensed. The phone kept ringing; a little red light flashed just at the line where it had the number four beside it. Roxas battled with himself between answering it and letting it be. It kept ringing; Roxas stood frozen where he was.

"Um… aren't you going to answer it, sir?" said Delilah. She had come into his room and he had not even noticed. Roxas didn't answer her; he stood where he was, staring at the device before him with a hard expression. Delilah inclined her head curiously. "Sir?"

She reached over for the phone before Roxas even knew what was happening.

No!

"Hello?" There was a pause after she'd said it, but by now Roxas had finally made up his mind to just let it ring. It was too late now. Delilah looked at him, her expression blank. "It's for you…" she whispered.

Roxas swallowed, walked up to her and took the phone from her. It took a while before he placed the receiver next to his ear. "Hello?" he said quietly.

"Roxas…they're coming for you. They're close by." It was a voice he didn't recognize. He pressed the phone closer to his ear, as though there were security cameras zeroing in on everything he said and did; Delilah was wandering around his room, totally oblivious. She stopped right in front of his bed, which was still made and the pillows were half-falling from the mattress – needless from the look on her face she was disgusted by the sight.

"Who are you?" Roxas hissed.

"A friend."

"I think I need a name, buddy, I can't just take your word for it that you're really my 'friend'," said Roxas, thinking this was downright hilarious. "Otherwise… how do I know I can trust you? You could be one of them sent out to capture me for all I know."

The phone was muffled by the static created by the storm, that Roxas had a hard time hearing what they said this time. But he heard something that switched a light in his head in an instant. "I know…Sora."

"Sora?" he demanded, his attempt at not being heard flew out the window. "Where is he? Tell me where he is?" Delilah, who'd just finished making his bed, looked up from her handy-work and frowned.

"I know you're looking for him… But you will have to hurry. You don't have much time; the people who are after you will be there soon. If you want to find Sora, or better yet save yourself, I suggest you trust me." More static; the line was close to ending, which meant he was running out of time to decide.

Roxas cursed; he'd walked into that one blindly. But… he supposed he'd have to risk it. He had no choice. Damn, he thought, this bites. Finally, he said, being sure to sound bitter about it, "Where do I go?"

"Outside the town there should be a small cavern. Be there in ten. I'll be waiting." And then the line went dead.

Roxas glared at the phone before putting it down. He walked out of the room, totally ignoring the fact that Delilah was following after him. He opened the door outside the motel. It was still raining. And maneuvering his way around town was going to be hectic with the added fog. Roxas scowled. Could this get any worse?

He was sorry he asked.

Behind him Delilah pierced his ear drums with a terrifying scream. Roxas whirled around fast and saw a white ephemeral light raise beneath the floorboards. The light soon faded and in its place stood a creature in white, with blue, blinking streams decorated all around its body; they didn't have hands, but rather they were shaped like the pointed edge of a knife, glinting and lethal-looking. The way it walked was just as strange as its appearance; instead of running or walking in a upward fashion, it swayed and slithered from side to side, much like a snake would. It was coming for Delilah, who'd bumped against the wall helplessly.

Roxas took on battle stance. He felt the familiar warmth fill the palm of his hands, a pool of light fleeted for a second between his fingers before something heavy fell into his grasp. A voice in his head from years before echoed in his mind as he swirled both energies in both his hands…

Keyblade… Keyblade… Keyblade…

Delilah looked mesmerized by the said items. One was a beautiful white that looked like it had the wings of an angel spread just above the hilt, making Delilah think it was a weapon of God – or so it appeared; the other one, however, was dark and shaded almost purely in black – a look that was most unholy like compared to the one in white. But there was something about the two of them together that gave a sense of massive power, unbelievable strength and universal balance.

"A key…and a sword…as one?" she whispered, before falling faint on the floor.

Roxas swung both Keyblades forward, cutting across the creature with ease. It withered away and dissipated the moment he'd hit it. He stood up and pushed his bangs away from his eyes. Dusks, Roxas scowled, damn… He was lucky it was only one so far… but many more wouldn't be far behind, he was sure. Other than his stupid dreams, Sora, and the damn organization… this was another annoyance he was positive he could live without.

Delilah's groan called Roxas to attention. He ran to her side and kneeled beside to her; he turned her face over so that he could examine her face, checking for signs of injuries. She was out cold, but other than that she was perfectly fine. Looking around, he thought, I can't just leave her here… more Dusks could come and get her. He heaved her over his shoulder and placed her gently in a broom closet he found at random. It wasn't very spacey nor was it cozy – a certain place not quite favored by anyone to be in he was sure, but it was safe enough for the time being. Besides, he was in a hurry; she'd thank him later for this.

Delilah made a jerk against his arm, and looked up at him in a daze. "W-what? Who are you?" she said faintly.

Roxas rolled his eyes, but gently silenced her. "Stay here. Don't come out, do you hear?"

Delilah didn't say anything; Roxas looked closer at her and realized that she'd fainted again. He felt his eye twitch at the sight; he ran a hand over his face, feeling the urge to just hit himself. Woman… they were such a complication. Behind him he heard the sound of more Dusks appearing. He quickly placed Delilah against the wall, shut the closet door and ran out the Motel, into the dark, rainy streets.

It was official. He was lost. Running down the streets for two and half minutes was beginning to look the same. Was it just him or did he passed that sign three times already? Okay, it was officially official: he was so totally screwed. He looked at his watch; just five minutes left and counting. Damnit… if only it wasn't so foggy out.

"My, my… if it isn't the Keyblade's chosen one all grown up."

That voice… Roxas whirled around in his spot. It was hard to make out who it was, but Roxas definitely recognized the hair, silhouette or not. The man was dressed much in the same fashion as him; dark pants, black boots and that undeniable Organization trench coat. The only thing that stood different between them was height and hair. The man was obviously much taller than he was, and the hair – spikier and out of control, not to mention bright red.

In spite of himself, Roxas could not help but grin.

"Axel…" he said.

Axel shook his head with evident dissatisfaction. "Ah Roxas, you disappoint me," he said solemnly. "I can't believe it has come to this. But…I'm giving you one last chance to forget this futile mission of yours and return to the Organization; I bet if you came back now you'll get away with minimum punishment."

Roxas sighed sadly and shook his head. "You know I can't, Axel."

It was Axel's turn to smile. "Heh… funny… I had a feeling you'd say that, and yet… like a fool I hoped you'd say otherwise…"

"Axel… " said Roxas, feeling a pang of guilt.

"No, no… it's okay," said Axel, making hand gestures for him to not to come near him. "Look I really don't want to fight you. But if you don't come with me I won't have a choice." A look of sadness passed through his eyes in an instant. "Don't you miss the old days?"

Roxas looked down. The old days with Axel and the Order… If he came back he'd never find out the truth about himself and his connection with Sora. He'd be back to knowing nothing. Looking at Axel, standing in front of him in this street, made Roxas remember something from before.

"Your mind's made up, huh?" said Axel, who was leaning against the wall of a building.

Roxas stopped where he was and looked at him. "Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."

And in a rush, he was angry, hitting his fist on the concrete behind him; for a moment Roxas could have sworn he saw a flame ignite between his fingers. "You can't turn on the Organization!" Axel shouted. "They'll track you down and destroy you!"

Roxas looked away. "No one would miss me," he said quietly and proceeded to walk away, unaware that Axel was looking after him with an expression akin to 'I would' on his face.

"So… are you coming… or not?" Axel spoke up, calling Roxas back to attention.

Roxas dug his fingers into the flesh of his palm. "I can't."

Axel smiled again, but now it held an expression Roxas could no longer recognize, or like for that matter.

"Okay… I see how it is."

Roxas, without warning, was surrounded by flames; they were dancing around him, nearing closer and closer until he could practically feel them burn his skin.

"My mission was to bring you back alive," said Axel, in a low dangerous voice. In his hands were Charkams that floated above his hands with ignited little tiny flames all around its rims, "but now… I don't care if I bring you back alive… OR DEAD!"

Axel shot fire from his dual weapons at him. Roxas did a double on the ground, dodging his attack. "Axel, stop! I don't want to fight you!" he shouted. Axel shot another fireball at him, to which he dodged again, but barely this time; the shoulder of his jacket was burnt with a hole at the middle, the remains of the fire glowed faintly before slowly dying. "Axel! We're supposed to be best friends!"

"Oh now you remember?" Axel hollered. "I'm so FLATTERED! But you're too late!"

Roxas jumped on the side of the building, deflecting the shots with his Keyblades. He jumped back down on the ground and went for cover behind another building. He was running out of time, he thought. Gazing at the giant clock tower, he saw the hands struck 11:57; only three more minutes till ten minutes were up.

"Roxas, come out, come out where ever you are!" Axel's voice bounced around the sides of the building.

But first…I have to avoid Axel without getting cooked to a toast.

He snuck a glance to check for Axel's position. The street was completely empty, and looked almost peaceful; save for the burnt rubble, the half-broken down buildings and the rain tapping at the ground like it was angry at it – all was fine. Roxas looked around again just to make sure before –

"Surprised!" Axel was right in front of him, grinning like a mad man.

Roxas felt himself being knocked back against the wall on the other end of the street, which gave way seconds after he'd collided against it. He groaned as he pushed off the heavy and broken debris which had fallen on him during his fall; not only was his entire

body now ringing with pain but his bloody headache was back, and with a vengeance. Roxas looked to his side and found the Oblivion Keyblade lying just beneath some concrete, but where was –

"Looking for this?" Axel's boots came into Roxas's vision. Roxas gazed upward and spotted the Oathkeeper in Axel's hands. He was swirling it around in his right hand, feeling its weight with both before swirling it around again with his left. "You know I'm surprised with you, Roxas," he said, clipping his tongue. "Normally you wouldn't be this easy to knock down. My, you must have really let yourself go these past few months, haven't you?"

Despite his pain, Roxas felt himself smile slyly. "Hm… not really," he said, and within the second the Oathkeeper had vanished from Axel's possession and back into Roxas's waiting hand. Axel looked startled by this unexpected move, a moment Roxas took this

time to shoot a beam of light from the ends of his Keyblades, sending Axel on the opposite end of him, straight into a brick wall.

Roxas heaved himself up with the aid of his weapons and grinned wearily. "You were saying, Axel? I still got some tricks up my sleeve."

The temperature increased dramatically, and soon enough the building on the other end had gone up in flames. Axel stood amongst the flare, looking murderous, his green eyes burning with the urge to kill.

"This is IT! Roxas," he hissed, "Call yourself a dead man!"

Axel charged straight toward him, charkams at both hands and with a raging inferno circling from its centre like a tornado. Roxas was having a hard time standing in both feet, but he held the Keyblades tightly and took on a defensive stance.

"Prepare to die!" Axel yelled and shot the charkams in a finishing blow. However, the attack never came; instead the charkams seemed to have halted in mid-air. On the other side, Axel was frozen too. Roxas gazed up at the sky and all around him – even the raindrops, which moments before were whacking away at his skin, had stopped in mid-fall. Time, apparently, had stopped. Literally.

Then… he heard a voice – the same voice from the phone call at the motel – speak loud and clear in his ear: Roxas, to the cavern, quick! You haven't much time! Go, now!

Roxas didn't need telling twice. His foot bolted, despite its cries for him to stop, and he tore off down the streets and out the city. He looked back to where Axel still was, but that glimpse was only for a moment; he soon turned his eyes back onto the road and never looked back again.

Roxas finally reached the outskirts of the city, which was just a wild field of flowers that seemed to go on forever. However, off on the side was a hillside, to where he spotted – to the caller's word – a small cavern that wasn't too noticeable in the dark. However, lucky for him he had excellent tracking skills. He dashed towards the entrance of the cavern, which soon led him to a very narrow trail. As soon as he reached the end of it, he was devastated when he came face to face with… a dead end.

He cursed. So this was all the rush for? He battled Dusks and even his best friend, whom Roxas was positive, would hate him for the rest of his life, all for the sake of a block at the end of the road? Roxas swore again, and, out of fury, summoned the Oblivion to his hand; he moved around the cave whacking away at dead roots, at rocks -- at anything he could sick his Keyblade on and exact his anger towards.

"You might want to save that pent up anger… for the real enemies that are coming," said a sing-song voice. Roxas turned around. Someone was standing in the darkness; had they been there before or did they just appear now? Roxas wondered. But that wasn't the point; Roxas was still pissed.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me you were there all this time?" he demanded. "Here I am wasting valuable energy thinking this was all a set-up and getting pissed over nothing when really you were here all this time? Gee thanks," he added sarcastically.

The person chuckled, irritating Roxas even further. Him acting like an idiot was not a laughing matter, at least not to him. "I am deeply sorry about that. Although, I must admit it was quite entertaining while it lasted."

Roxas crossed his arms and huffed grumpily. "Okay, whatever, you had your laugh. So what the hell is this for?"

"I… I can't tell you that, at least not yet," the person said.

"Why not?" said Roxas impatiently? "You said you knew Sora and that you knew I was looking for him. I want answers."

"I'm sorry… I can't. Now's not the time."

Roxas opened his mouth to argue further, but he heard something – the sound of slithering Dusks making their way down the cavern.

The person jumped from their place in the shadows. "Damnit… they found us already. And I was hoping for more time to explain. No matter… Roxas, come here."

Roxas frowned, but did as he was told. He started forward, until the unknown person stood before him. Now, at a different time Roxas would've been hysterical about it, however once the person saw his eyes contract he/she/it placed a finger over their lips to silence him.

"Now isn't the time for that. I'll explain it all to you later in the next time we meet," he/she/it said. "For now… I'm going to open a rift through space. It'll transport you someplace safe until I find you again." The person extended their hand to the side of the wall where a black pool of darkness sprouted from it.

Roxas wanted to say something -- he could feel the sarcastic remark rolling eagerly at the edge of his tongue, just ready to be spilled out, but it was too late. Behind him the Dusks were swaying towards them, and not too far behind was a head of bright red hair. Axel. Roxas turned to the unknown person again and then at the black hole.

"ROXAS!" Axel roared as soon as he spotted him. "Get back here; I'm not through with you!"

He shot missiles of fiery flames.

"Roxas, go now!" He/she/it had intervened right away, creating a shield around them which deflected Axel's awesome attacks. Axel shot again, looking frustrated. The unknown person's grip on the shield was beginning to waver; both Axel and Roxas noticed that. Axel grinned victoriously and continued his raid of fireball attacks. The unknown person looked at Roxas. "I'll hold him off. GO! Now!"

Roxas couldn't decide, because the unknown person created a wind spell that sent Roxas flying backwards, right into the black hole. In the void, his world soon faded and started to spin, over and over; Roxas shut his eyes tight as he tumbled his way back into darkness.

A/N: Well, tell me what you think? Was it good, bad – what? Thanks for reading. Please review!