A Light in the Darkness

Disclaimers: All Kingdom Hearts characters are owned by Disney and Square Enix and are all copied without permission. I have made this story for fun and not profit.

Writer's Note: I was doing a role play with one of my friends and shortly after starting it and with the direction the RP had taken, had been thinking about the well known battle in KH2 with Axel and Roxas.. That got me thinking of this idea for a story... Some of the characters might be a bit out of character but I still hope you all enjoy. (Takes place during Kingdom Hearts II)

Part One

Axel's head hung low, the rain pouring down freely from above him. He covered his face, quaking, shaking a bit, unsure if what flowed down his cheeks were rain or... Something else... Just before him, a boy with blonde hair had his head hung as he clutched his chest with one hand and held an Oblivion Keyblade in the other. The boy looked up at Axel, pain and betrayal shining in his bright sapphire eyes.

"You can't...go." Axel insisted, shaking his head back and forth. "You CAN'T. Please."

Roxas tightened his grip on the Keyblade. There was a pain in his chest as he tried to stand up.

"Axel.. W-why..? Why did you..?"

Roxas collapsed to the ground again, his Keyblade vanishing from sight.

Axel looked on in horror.

"Oh no. Oh no no no!" he raced to Roxas's side, shaking him slightly. It seemed Roxas wasn't breathing!

"No-no, don't be dead, d-don't be dead! Crap, crap, CRAP!" he cried out. "Roxas, c'mon buddy, wake up!"

Roxas remained motionless on the ground. Thankfully, Roxas was still breathing though it was in very shallow gasps. His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth were clenched in agony. There was a noticeable wound in his side... Just beneath where his heart would be... Wisps of smoke began to leave Roxas's body as he lay motionless on the ground.

"Oh geez..." Axel shook his head back and forth. "I gotta get you some Potions. We'll head back to my room-no, no, the Organization would kick our a$$es. I...I gotta find another place to hide you."

He carefully lifted Roxas into his arms, racing off. He knew a nice, calm place to hide. TWILIGHT TOWN. The real one. He'd head out to the abandoned mansion, at the moment, NOBODY was there. As Axel ran, Roxas lay bridal style on his arms, his head lulling gently against Axel's arm. The rain continued to fall as Axel curried Roxas away toward their destination.

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The journey seemed to be a blur as they headed through the forest behind the real Twilight Town. All the while, Roxas's breathing was becoming more shaky and shallow by the minute. It was then that they had finally reached the front gates of the old mansion.

Axel kicked the door down with a loud crash and barreled inside, racing off for the bedroom. Carefully, he lay Roxas down on the bed.

"Hold on, Roxas. I'm going into town. I'll get you some medicine, you're gonna be fine!" he insisted. "...you have to be..."

Roxas didn't seem to stir from the movement. At that time, the black smoke had completely dispersed from Roxas's chest and it was easy to see the dark burns that had seared through his clothing.

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Axel raced off to town, and soon began emptying his pockets in a store.

"Here!" he said, pushing several gil straight into the shopkeeper's arms, the woman looking up in shock. "I need all the friggin' potions you've got! As good a quality as you can get me!"

The woman opened her mouth to speak but soon nodded and brought him what he had asked. The total cost was 673 munny.

"Is everything alright, Sir?" she asked in confusion and a bit of concern.

"My friend's pretty badly hurt." Axel said. He just BARELY had 675. "Here." he said, putting the munny down, tucking the potions up into his arms, and barreling out of the room.

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As Axel returned to the mansion, it was soon evident that he was not alone.

"Do you not understand what you are doing?"

Just behind him was a man. He was dressed in a red robe and wore a mask of red bandages. A single gold colored eye peered out from behind the mask.

Author's Note: This is actually a role play I'm doing with a friend.. I will try to get more up soon..