Disclaimer: I own nothing! (well, except for Carol, the random girl I put in here)

This is not a RoxasxAxel fanfic. Don't like it? Tough luck!

The only reason I'm uploading this is because I'm curious if it is worth continuing; if I get enough positive feedback, I'll work on it some more ^_^

It wasn't the eternal darkness he had been expecting. In fact, he hadn't been expecting anything after putting his entire 'being' into his last attack. What he had opened his eyes to was the room of a building that looked as if it might collapse at any given moment. Confused and sore, he picked himself up from the floor with aching arms, looking around the room to see only a bed frame and a dresser with a missing drawer. He sat for a moment, bringing a hand to his forehead, trying to will the throbbing headache away that had suddenly hit him, before standing up unsteadily. Holding on to the window sill for support, he looked outside and saw the heavy fog that covered everything like a veil. The first question any sane person would ask themselves at this point came to mind; where was he? It wasn't like any of the worlds he had ever visited when he was with the organization. In fact, none of them had ever seemed so desolate and unwelcoming.

"What is this place?" he scratched the back of his head, noticing a difference in his attire as he did so, "This is new," he looked down at his clothes to find that the uniform coat had been replaced with a black hoodie, dark jeans and black shoes. The change was something he didn't care to question at the moment though; he looked back outside, "Guess the first order of business is trying to figure out where I'm at"

When he turned away from the window, he noticed a white sheet of paper sticking out of the dresser. Had the paper been there before? He strode over to the dresser and pulled out the paper, finding that it had his name on it.

Dear Axel,

Your heart awaits you at the end. If you survive it is yours. You are the only one who has been given this chance, don't waste it.

Sincerely,

A friend

P.s You might want to take the gun and the bat

"My heart, huh," Axel kept looking at the paper, turning it to look at the back to see if there was any other messages before stuffing it in his pocket when he found none, "And survive what? There's nothing in this place"

He opened the drawer he had grabbed the letter from to find a gun and a box of ammo. Axel then looked up to see a steel baseball bat on top of the dresser, 'Why would I need these? I have my own weapons.' Wanting to prove that he didn't need the weapons, he tried summoning his chakrams. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still, nothing happened. Not even a spark of fire showed up. "Damn it, looks like I don't have a choice"

Axel reached for the gun, shoving some ammo inside it before pocketing the rest of the ammo and putting the gun in the pocket that was inside his jacket near his heart…or where his heart should be. Next, he grabbed the steel bat before exiting the room. With doors, or where doors should have been, lining the hallway, it looked like the place might have been a hotel or an apartment building. He tried the doors as he passed them, finding they were locked, and glanced inside rooms where the doors were missing. There was nothing important to be found for the most part. The rooms either had nothing at all or dirty mattresses and bed frames. Axel took a turn at the end of the hall to see even more doors lining the hallway, with only one door open and the room lit. He crept towards the room, staying close to the walls before peeking in. Inside was a brown haired girl in a long sleeved shirt and jeans, her worn-out sneakers off her feet and on the bed next to her. She appeared to be crying as her body was shuddering.

"You alright?" he walked inside and she looked up at him with hazel eyes watering.

"A nightmare isn't all bad if someone is with you. But you're just going to lead me to my death if I follow you, right? Someone always does that in my nightmares," She looked down, "But not this time, go away! I don't want to know what kind of death you are going to lead me to!"

"A nightmare?"

"I always end up here when I fall asleep, but I can't seem to wake up this time," she sounded like she was crying, "I can't wake up. The only way to wake up must be to die, but I hate dying every night. The pain is too much"

He didn't know if the girl should be comforted or left alone; she seemed like she had a few loose screws. Axel scratched the back of his head, still standing in the doorway. Should he just leave her here?

"What's your name?" he asked

"Carol," she answered in a whisper, bringing up her legs and hugging her knees

"Is there anyone here but you?"

Carol traced the patterns on the bare mattress, her eyes still wet with tears, "I always see a boy standing out by the entrance when I leave here. But I haven't left here this time so I don't know if he's still there"

Axel looked towards the window of the room but the fog outside was too thick to see anything, "I've gotta go, Carol"

"What's your name?" she asked before he turned away, looking up

"Axel"

She simply nodded before going back to tracing lines on the mattress, humming a tune that followed Axel as he slowly walked away. In a way, the tune was a bit eerie and left him feeling slightly paranoid for some reason. He took the stairs that were at the end of the hall and descended down into what was probably a reception area. There were some papers scattered over the front desk, a broken pen, and a phone that was hanging off the receiver and over the front of the desk. It also smelled here too, like something had died and hadn't been cleaned out. In fact, the smell was stronger here. It was enough to make him almost gag; he put a hand over his nose and mouth and quickly made his way to the exit.

Exiting the building, he expected to be hit with a wall of cool air. Instead, he found that the air was rather stale, devoid of any breeze. And what he had thought was snow falling from the sky turned out to be ash upon closer inspection. He tapped the end of the steel bat he had in his hand lightly against the ground as he looked around. Where exactly was he supposed to start the search for his heart? It wasn't like he had been given a clue as where to start and looking in every building just wasn't reasonable. Interrupting his thoughts, a short figure caught his eye. His eyes darted towards where it was standing; a blond boy standing under a sign with the worlds Silent Hill painted on it. The boy was looking down where the road had seemed to disappear, his gaze blank.

"Roxas?"