I shivered quietly in the corner of the gloomy of the cave, despite the overwhelming heat and a coat of dark brown fur. Four padded feet were shaking so uncontrollably that I had to lay the Keyblade on the ground, away from prying eyes. What I was feeling was completely unexpected, which was strange. I never felt this way, even in the face of danger. Perhaps the reason was because I wasn't physically attached to the Keyblade. My life, my sanity depended on it.

I knew what was coming next. Donald and Goofy were suspended in midair as if by invisible strings. Yet this still couldn't be possible. There was no rock over my head. The cave was completely open to the elements. I'd never seen magic like this before. They were completely immobilized. Or so I liked to think. They'd been there for the past few hours, so I knew that they were dead. King Mickey was nowhere to be seen… probably off fighting the Heartless on some unknown world.

That's what I'd been doing for the past three years. Fighting the Heartless, the darkness. I had thought that it ended with the death of Ansem. But I was wrong. There was another group seeking possession of Kingdom Hearts. Heh… Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds. If that was true, why was this little cave all that was left of the universe? I had no answer for it, and my mind tormented itself constantly trying to solve the problem.

That other group that I mentioned? Organization XIII. The ruling class of the Nobodies, shells left behind when the darkness consumes a heart. They're the ones that caused all this. Caused everything to vanish in the blink of an eye, including my friends, Riku and Kairi. They caused the death of Donald and Goofy. They brought the Heartless to this world. That's why I'm scared. I'm alone, and completely surrounded by the darkness. It's only a matter of time before I, too, continue on to meet Donald and Goofy once more.

Riku, Kairi…, I thought. Please forgive me. I wasn't able to complete my promise to you, and now I won't be able to make another attempt at it.

"Aww. C'mon, Roxas. That's no way to think about life. You're the Keyblade bearer, remember? People expect good things from you. Got it memorized?"

I knew that voice. I'd heard it many times in my dreams. I also knew the face that accompanied it, but I still couldn't place it with a name.

"Who's there?"

"You don't remember me? I'm hurt, Roxas. After all that we've been through together? I honestly expected better."

"I know who you are… but please, give me a name."

"Hmmm… should I? Or should I not? It's a really delicate situation you're in, Roxas. I expected you to be out of it months ago. Yet here you still are, sitting in the same corner that I saw you cower in when you first came to this world, hoping to free it from the clutches of the Organization. Pity… because it's ours now."

My mind raced as soon as the Organization was mentioned. I knew exactly who it was.

"Axel! Show yourself!"

I cringed as I heard the distinct sound of a portal appearing, and was somewhat excited to see Axel step from the darkness within. It was all I took not to pick up the Keyblade and run him through with it. He was weaponless, anyway. It hardly would have been a fair fight.

He laughed as he could see my current form.

"Imagine if Kairi saw you right now. She'd think you were so cute. But then again… maybe she wouldn't."

I quickly shifted back to my human form.

"Why would you say something like that?"

"She's dating Olette. Hasn't anyone told you?"

"Well, no. Look around you. There really isn't any possible way that anyone could."

"True, but still. Nobody from the Organiza-"

"How did you hear my thoughts, Axel?"

"Hmm… didn't anyone teach you not to interrupt others?

"Answer the goddamned question, Axel!"

"Please. Think about it, Roxas. People are tied to the darkness in intimate ways, all of them personal, and no two the same. It's amazing that, with this many people, the darkness hasn't overwhelmed you. That's how I heard what you were thinking."

"And you? Why aren't you fading with the millions of others who have already? What does the darkness have to do with you?"

"I've accepted the darkness into my body as a fail-safe. It's almost like another immune system. Another person living in my skin. You felt it once before, Roxas. Before you turned your back on the Organization."

"Axel, please don't remind me of that. It was the most painful experience of my life, but it had to be done."

"It had to be done? Roxas, do you have any idea how much I've missed your presence in the cold hallways of Castle Oblivion? It's like my skin was torn from my bones while I was bound and gagged, regardless of how the darkness makes me feel."

I reach behind me, my fingers tightening around the handle of the Keyblade, dragging it out into the open.

"You see this? This has caused too much pain for me," I lied. "I had to run."

"Well, then. If you had to run, why did you take the Keyblade with you? Apparently it's not hurting you as much as you think it is."

"No, I-"

My mouth shut of it's own accord, and I realized that I had just blown my alibi. I looked around the cave, looking for Axel as he had vanished from the spot he was standing upon not a moment ago.

"Where'd you go, Axel?"

I heard his voice, a faint whisper, from behind me.

"Here."

Turning around quickly, my eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, and they landed upon… rock. Axel was nowhere to be. I quickly turned back to the center of the cave to see him in floating a couple of inches off the ground. My eyes flew up to his face as soon as he started to speak again.

"Now tell me. Why did you really leave the Organization?"

I let a small smile spread across my face as I barreled into him, my arms wrapping around his waist.

"Because I love you, Axel. I couldn't tell you because the Organization might have been listening in."

"And what makes you think that they aren't listening in right now? You might have just spilled your darkest secret, and now everybody knows."

"Because they trust you, just like I do."

I could feel his heartbeat quicken as I said the words, and my smile widened. My eyes then opened slightly as I felt his arms wrap around my waist.

"I love you, too, Roxas."

Strangely enough, my body started to relax once more, the warmth that I once felt taking over the seeping coldness. The Keyblade vanished, yet I knew exactly where it waited. It just didn't recognize Axel as a threat, and for that, I was grateful. I'd like to think that Axel might have confessed something else, but I never heard it. My body was retreating to it's natural rhythm, and I'd had too many sleepless nights recently.

When I woke, up, the Keyblade was nowhere to be seen, and everything that just happened seemed to be a dream. Axel was gone, so maybe it was. I stretched my arm out from the blanket that covered me, palm facing the opposite wall. I mustered what mental energy I could and summoned the Keyblade, satisfaction coursing through me as it came as soon as I called it. The black metal glimmered as rays of sunlight bounced off it's rippled surface.

I dismissed it soon after, as the door started to make a noise. Moving faster than I ever had before, I turned to my side, closed my eyes so that only a sliver of my surroundings could filter in, and feigned sleep. I let them open again as I saw who it was that had entered. It was Axel.

"Axel."

"Roxas."

"What're you doing here?"

"I might ask you the same. You're in my house."

I looked around, finally noticing that everything in the room wasn't anything I owned.

"Your house? But… how?"

"You were stuck in a semi-traumatic situation for months."

He didn't need to elaborate. I remembered everything overnight.

"But… there's more to it than that, isn't there?"

"Yes," he sighed. "There is."

"I knew it."

"You love me."

I shut my mouth… unable to say anything more.

"So it wasn't a dream, then."

"No, it wasn't."

"Why the hell didn't you come when I first called?"

He backed away towards the door. I couldn't blame him, the anger that burst forth was fierce. I even surprised myself and that didn't happen often.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

He sighed quietly then strode forward to sit on the edge of the bed, hand outstretched to muffle any more apologies that I might have.

"You don't need to apologize, Roxas. I understand what you must be feeling right now. I felt it before Xemnas rescued me."

"How can you possibly understand what I'm thinking?"

"Because, like I said before, I love you, too."