A/N: Welcome to my first One-shot! I was watching Ghost Hunters when an idea came up in my head that just wouldn't go away. Anyways, hope you like it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunters or Kingdom Hearts.

Lingering Spirits

For as long as I can remember, I've roamed this empty metal ship. It's been maybe hundreds of years since the ship last was on the open seas, battling enemies in war-ridden waters. The battleship was long and spacious, but after living in it for what feels like a millennia, it got pretty boring. I took up screwing around with tourists and other workers that walked along the rails or ventured anywhere inside the ship. I figured out the truth of it a long time ago, and funny enough I really wasn't bothered by it.

I am dead.

I guess my ghost was one of an American war hero, but I honestly can't remember much about life except bomb shells and gunfire. Did I have a family? When I died, did I leave anyone behind? It scares me how much I don't really care about the past. I don't care for much at all really. I'm detached, unfazed by the events in the real world moving forward in time around me.

I know every corner and shadow of this ship from the lowest level to the tallest deck. I've been in every room, and even chatted once in a while with other deceased soldiers. I guess that's what I am, but I have no idea what rank I held. One thing I will always remember, that I always try my hardest to memorize…is my name. I can forget my life, I can forget all the faces of my past; but I will never forget my name. I feel like if that were to happen, I would lose myself completely.

I am Axel Sullivan.

Whenever I care to look at the living, they continue to baffle me at how much they change. What were those devices they held to their ear, and what did sliding fingers over the surface of them do? I once scared a girl with white wires held in her ear that trailed down to the device by touching her shoulder to ask. My hand slipped through her frame, but just from the touch I knew what the device was used for. It was her communication to the world, her family and her music.

Every once in a while, my actions cause curiosity from the living. People talk about seeing shadows of a man, or the touch of something cold that is not there. Sometimes if I focus real hard they can hear me, but that wears me out rather quickly. I surprised myself once by turning the lights on and off in a flicker of Morse code. Even though the ship is basically a museum stuck at harbor, employees still hang about the narrow metal walkways and navigate the decks at night. They're fun to mess with, I'll admit…but after a while they get used to it or move to get a different job.

Here I was, wandering the halls like usual, running my frozen, insubstantial fingers along the iron plated walls when I heard new voices.

I sensed them on the other side of the big ship, five people. Two young teens, three adults. It's harder to get attention from adults than it is from teens, but these ones seemed interested in my existence. Closing my eyes, I teleported my existence over to the entrance where they were before opening my eyes to observe these visitors.

Black uniforms bearing the white initials P.I.A. on the backs of the jackets covered them. Cameras were held under arms and weird equipment was leashed to their backs and waists. They wore regular Levi jeans and black cap hats, and those with their jacket unzipped showed a black order-shirt displaying Paranormal Investigative Agency in fine white letters.

I chuckled before laughing quietly to myself. What were they thinking they would achieve with all that junk? Why were they even here? Their presence match that of the curious teenagers I had scared before, except they held a more professional air about them.

"Did you hear that?" One of the young teenagers asked.

"What?" One of the adults looked back, swinging a camera tri-pod he held to his side.

"There was a laugh…" The teenager swung around, trying to locate the source. I looked at him a bit closer, intrigued that someone could hear me so easily. He had short, wild hair and eyes the color of the ocean blue. Just from staring into those eyes I remembered that the ocean blue was something I new quite well, and this color far surpassed that. I stayed silent, waiting before acting upon this new discovery.

"That's what happens, Zexion," An older man came along and took out one piece of equipment from his backpack that pinged. "…when you invite a medium to the case."

This new character turned to the blonde teenager with a cheerful smile that gleamed, "Wait until we at least have our cameras and EVPs ready before you start talking to the ghosts without us. We want to catch all the evidence of paranormal activity that we can, alright Roxas?"

The blond looked down at his feet and muttered. The others didn't hear it, or didn't care… but I heard what he said just from existing in this part of the ship.

"They do what they want, it's not my fault they come to me."

I blinked at such a morose attitude the teenager had towards conversing with the…dead. Well that makes sense I suppose.

I watched as the group went about getting their stuff ready. They talked about setting up in rooms with the most activity, and with surprise I recognized the places they put cameras. There, in the missile compartment, was where I played with the lights in code. They put another camera by the hallway where I freaked that one girl out, talking about a witness reporting the feeling of not being alone and an ice-cold tug on her shoulder. Out by the captain's quarters where the ship's wheel rested with gathering dust was where they put a camera…where I heard that someone almost saw me, or a shadow of me.

"Ok, recorders are on…let's split up and start our sessions. Roxas, you team up with Terra and check out the captain's wheel where there's been accounts of apparitions. Zexion and I will go check the missile chambers where lights flickered in Morse code, and Zack will check the walkway where the young witness Xion felt a tug on her shoulder and others heard disembodied footsteps." The young man I had come to hear others call 'Demyx' relayed the plan. In retrospect, I was pretty sure I didn't tug that girl's shoulder. Must have scared her more than I thought. "At three o-clock, we'll pack up and call it a night before looking over our recordings in the afternoon. Alright! Over and out!"

Zexion strapped a headlamp to his wrist as Zack wished Terra well with a fist-bump to the shoulder before heading out. Quick fare-wells were passed between the members of the group and the others headed out.

Eventually, only Roxas and Terra were standing in the captain's navigation room. Terra turned all the flashlights off, throwing darkness over the space like a comforting blanket. I don't know why, but I felt better in the dark than I did in the light. I welcomed the sensation of power the darkness gave me, fleeting and intangible.

"My name is Terra, this is my good friend Roxas. Is there anyone here with us? A soldier or sailor of the USS Little Rock? Are you a victim from the war?" The tall teenage brunet spoke outconfidently, holding up a device. "If you are here, can you show yourself or give us a sign? Can you tug on Roxas' shoulder?"

"Hey!"

Terra laughed, but I didn't care about him. My attention was trained on the device in his hand, a handheld meter of somesort that measured energy like what sonar does. Somehow, I remembered what sonar does and I was interested in what this thing was for. I held out my hand towards it and jumped when it started to beep at a frantic frequency.

"Woah, we've got activity. The EMF is going into flux." Terra said with a sense of thrill in his voice. Roxas stepped back, his back hitting the spokes wheel.

A device that responded to me? I had to check this out. Touching the device, I felt the meters and the thing squealed loudly.

"That's as high as it goes…" Terra muttered, a mixture of excitement and fear making his voice shake. He rubbed his hands along his arms. "Ohhh, it got freezing all of a sudden….Like the temperature went down several degrees in one second..."

I smirked.

"He's here…." Roxas whispered before shaking off the huge fear that I could sense inside him. "I can feel it."

"Oh, that's right. Well medium, why don't you ask the questions? I've already started the recording device."

Roxas shuffled around hesitantly. "Can you tell us your name?"

A medium. I've never heard of a medium before. Is that an occupation like sailing? Somehow I knew it wasn't, and I was intrigued. How could this boy hear me? How could he easily feel my presence?

I walked towards him and nearly doubled back at the memories that flashed before my eyes. Just by being near this kid…made me remember who I was.

Axel. I tried to focus on telling the teen that one word, but sooner that I thought the message was across and Roxas nodded.

Terra jumped, looking back and forth. I expect to him my voice was like listening to someone far away, the words ineligible.

"Ok, Axel. Can you tell me why you are still here?" Roxas said, gradually calming down, but nerves still tight around his neck and shoulders.

Finding out that I didn't have to focus so much and waste energy speaking to him, I lowered my concentration. If he had talked to the dead before, then why was he so scared?

I'm more interested in you. I spoke without words, as I leaned against the wheel beside him. I saw the goosebumps rise up on Roxas' left arm where I grazed against it. The boy shivered. You can hear me? Why you?

"I-I um...I am a medium. I- I talk to people like you." Roxas whispered. Ignoring Terra's quizzical stare.

Oh, so now I count as people? That's new. I laughed, but then frowned at the way the kid flinched. If you are so used to 'people' like me, why are you so scared?

"Th-that's not your business." Roxas gulped. "We're here to ask the questions, not you."

Well, my life is none of your business either. Even if you are helping me to remember. See, communication is a two-way street.

Roxas paused, an inner conflict evident as day within him before he turned to Terra and whispered. "Turn off the devices." Once his friend complied he muttered, "I told you. I told you I couldn't do this!"

"Roxas, you're doing fine." Terra encouraged. "If you don't let them in, they can't control you. That incident at the sleepover was a freak accident."

"Terra, please!" Roxas insisted. "I'm not ready for this. It's happened too many times, just too many…"

I felt strangely concerned, and placed a hand on the kid's shoulder in attempts to calm the jumping red and hot energy emitting from him. Through the negative energy I was given glimpses of the kid's past. Not realizing what was happening at first, my eyes widened as my grip tightened.

"What is it?"

"It's a spirit board. The alphabet is there for ghosts to use to make sentences and talk to us!"

The ten year old Roxas looked doubtfully at his best friend, Sora. All around him kids of his age and slightly older or younger gathered.

"Oh that looks cool!"

"Yeah, let's play it!"

Finally, the boy Roxas relented and they all sat down at a roundish table, setting up candles and putting their hands on the triangle-like cursor in the middle.

Sora started trying to ask ghosts and dead people to tell him their favorite color. When that and a whole bunch of other useless questions failed, Sora turned to Roxas and asked him to try it.

"Fine." Roxas cleared his throat. He held his head back a ways and looked up at the far wall where nothing stood. "Is there anybody with us right now? If so, can you give us a sign?"

The kids gasped at once as all the candles blew out on their own, no wind or breath running through the room… only silence. Everything was dark as pitch but Roxas' friends ushered him to go on as one of them, Kairi, went to light up the candles once more so they could see the spirit board.

Roxas waited until she joined hands with them before he began again. "Can you tell us your name?"

The kids shouted in surprised and shock as the cursor jerked to a letter with the force of a hammer. 'X'. Then it moved again, and again…until a name was spelled out. Pence wrote it down before showing the letters to the rest of the gang.

XEMNAS

Roxas shook as he licked his dry lips, "Can you tell us why you're here?"

I'M HERE BECAUSE OF YOU. The voice seemed to rip through his skull in response and caused Roxas to scream sharply. YOU DON'T KNOW IT YET, DO YOU? YOUR BODY IS A VESSEL, BOY…. ONE I AM JUST DYING TO USE.

Roxas cried out as an invading sensation drove knives inside his soul. He lost control over his hands, and when he tried to run his feet betrayed him. He could hear his friends asking him what was wrong, but it was like they were in another world. His world became a tumbling chaos of energies and space, and he saw the apparition in a dark black haze look down on him with great gold eyes like a venomous snake before it reached out to grab his heart.

The next thing he knew for the next three hours was pain. Nothing but pain. Ice cold like glaciers in his chest…hot as an iron poker on his nerves…sharp as a knife scraping across his mind. There was no escaping it. He had no idea what the spirit was doing with his friends, and he wished to god they would still be alive after this. …Soon that thought shifted as Roxas doubted he would ever get out of this prison of souls. He wanted to cry, he wanted to throw a chair against a wall, he wanted to break down and sob his heart out but he couldn't. He knew if this was his future he would break and fall to insanity. Finally the sun rose and Roxas felt the dead spirit leave him like a used-up battery thrown in the trash. He slumped to the floor and took his own breaths once more, feeling joyous relief in the act of cool air filling his lungs before the darkness of unconsciousness… a calmer, warmer darkness…took hold of him.

"ACK!" Roxas jumped away, breaking the contact. I froze, trying to get my head together. No wonder the poor kid was deathly afraid of me. He had been used like a puppet by the soul of an evil fucker. I looked back at the teen. The kid curled up on the floor, his arms shaking and his lips quivering. Was his skin supposed to be that color of white?

"Roxas! Rox, are you ok? What's wrong?" Terra knelt down with him and held the sobbing teen.

"I-I…" Roxas' voice shook from the effort. "I saw how he d-died."

I blinked. The kid saw my memories? Not even I could remember that much. But…judging from his reaction it looked worse than I thought. How had I died? Do I even want to remember? I'm pretty sure I'd seen lots of death in my life. Gunshots and missile launch codes still littered my mind, the sounds and sights more evident now that I had met this kid…Roxas.

Sorry. I backed up a little bit. No need to crowd the kid for answers when I'm sure I scared the teen enough already. I'll just…go now.

"Wait!"

As I turned to leave, I heard a rustling of clothes before I felt a hand go through my own as though trying to hold me back.

"Wait…" I turned around and saw the kid's eyes looking at….me. Wait, he couldn't possibly… "Please don't go. You're the first good spirit I've ever met."

Looking into those eyes I nearly felt the remnants of a dead heart. For a second I saw through his eyes, and looked at myself in his world of energy and space. A fiery white aura with flicks of red glowed from a tall figure with long, scarlet red hair the color of a deep sunset that puffed out like a lion's mane. Green eyes shown above twin tear tattoos that graced my cheeks, and an admiral's uniform covered me in a long coat of silver and blue that reached down to my knees. On my shoulder, five stars declared the rank of Fleet Admiral of the US navy.

I…look like that? I mumbled with disbelief. Is that really me?

"Yeah." Roxas smiled, the first time since I saw him enter this steal death trap of a ship. "You led this ship to victory against its enemies in the war of WWII, but the battle was lost to history when its leader was caught in enemy fire, trying to save a member of his crew from the flames. You burned to death, still trying to complete your mission."

I stood there, in shock. Then slowly, in small increments like pieces of glass shaping together to form a whole mirror again, I started to remember. After the names came together my whole life came back to me like a rushing faucet finally released. The crew…Saix, Luxord, Xigbar, Vexen, even my younger brother Reno was there with me…I remembered seeing the enemy ship on the radar screens and typing in the missile launch code before we got hit. Running….lots of running. The heat grew rapid and I heard cries for help.

It was the greenhorn…Tidus. At a fragile age of fourteen he didn't belong in a war like this. I tried to give him the easiest jobs, fetching ammunition for the machine guns at the upper-deck from below. Now, paralyzed beside cheap iron barrels of kerosene and crates of loaded gun shells I knew I had doomed the boy to this. I fought the flames inside the isolated ammunition chamber, shielding the boy from the flames with my silver and blue long coat as we carefully navigated our way out, ducking low to avoid the smoke.

That was when saw it, the sliver of flame licking greedily at a leaking tank of fuel. Before it could kill us both I shoved the boy to the exit with a firm "go!" at my lips. I didn't have time for one more step.

Searing chemical fire exploded across my back and right side, shaking the ship. The skin melted off my right arm from the intensity, and outside the exit door I heard Tidus calling frantically for help, and was quickly joined by Reno. By then the fire covered every inch of my body, burning clothes, skin and hair in a horrid smell of charred meat. One look from my brother said it all. There was no way out of this, and my brother's heart was torn. His expression was the last I saw before the liquid in my eyes boiled steaming tears as the fire ate at my body hungrily, taking away my sight. I heard the exit close tight to shield the ship from further damage of the isolated room's explosions. The next one killed me quick, blowing me apart.

Coming back from the memories, I felt like crying. No tears dripped down, however, due to my lack of a body. In spirit, I teared up and let them fall. The heart I never had until now pained at the memory, and I had to sit down for a bit to take it in. I felt a hand hover where my shoulder would have been, and I looked up to see those startlingly blue eyes.

My mission is over…I realized. Where do I go now?

"Well, that's up to you." Roxas smiled back sadly. "You can move on to whatever afterlife there is, continue haunting this place, or you could come home with me by latching on to my signature and help other ghosts cross over."

Terra overheard and nearly tripped over himself. "Wait, what are you talking with the ghost about now? Did I hear that right?"

I looked at him, my head tilted a bit. What? You'd let me go with you? ...Why?

"It's a reason for you to stay among the living for a bit longer." Roxas shrugged. "That, and like I said before, you're the first good spirit I've ever met. However, if you try to possess me I'll kick you out on the streets."

I laughed. This might not be so bad. Thinking it over once, I realized there was someone I had to see before I left anyways…if he was still alive. WWII wasn't that long ago for him to have died from it already, I'm sure Reno must be pushing ninety years by now.

Sure. I said. Sounds like fun.

Voices crackled through their hand radios hung at their hips. The three o-cock had come and it was time for the group of investigators to wrap it up. They met back together on the deck with Zexion, Demyx and Zack before exiting the ship. It was still dark, so they were careful to mind their surroundings.

Standing over the walkway, I watched Roxas pass the boundary of where I'd stayed for decades. Was it truly possible for me to leave? I took a tentative step forward, and a rush of freedom filled my soul as it passed through the boundary and onto the dock. Looking at Roxas with a sense of elation, the kid turned around and smiled. I jogged over to where he stood and latched on to my new anchor in this new world. This time, it didn't go through.

I was free.